Dirty Little Secret
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Rukia pleads with her brother to try to help Ichigo, who seems to have fallen into a depression after Ginjou's death. Both are surprised at just what happens as a result...Byakuya/Ichigo...Ichigo mpreg
1. The Favor

**Dirty Little Secret**

**By Spunky0ne**

**(This storyline was suggested by Love Psycho. Thank you so much! Spunky loves new pairings! I'll do my best to create some serious magic...a tormented Ichigo...a 'trying to help' but sometimes clueless and a little bit odd Byakuya. Sounds like a lovely, slow burn romance! Hope you like it. Love to all, Spunky)**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Chapter 1: The Favor**

"Nii-sama?"

Rukia's voice issued softly from the doorway, tugging the noble out of the book he was reading. Before, he would simply have answered, still keeping his back to her. But ever since he had seen her fighting so hard in Hueco Mundo to help her friends, he couldn't look at her through the same eyes. No...the eyes that had seen her as a younger version of Hisana could not recognize that in her now. Rukia was notably more spirited and emotive. She did look up to him as Hisana had, but she did so, not as much to appreciate, but as much to emulate.

Yes, the more they were around each other, the more Rukia reflected _his _influence on her. And not having been able to have children with Hisana, he found it incredibly enchanting to see himself reflected so strongly in her expressions, in her speech and actions, and in her powers as she grew as a shinigami.

Yes, for all that she resembled Hisana physically, his mind no longer pained him when he looked at her. He could see now the completely unique person she was.

He set his book down and turned to face her, kneeling. He fought off a smile at how it still seemed to surprise her to see him face her that way.

_But yes, this is my way of saying...I am proud of you._

"Yes, Rukia," he responded quietly.

"I apologize for the way that I was yelling at Ichigo in the gardens earlier."

"I told you. I understand. I am not angry."

"I know. But I am still sorry. But...I also came to you because...well...perhaps you noticed when he was here that he seemed...I don't know, _moody_, depressed...not himself."

Byakuya was quiet for a moment, trying to recall.

_"You know what, guys?" Ichigo snapped, scowling at Rukia and Renji, "I don't think I need to explain myself to you every time something bothers me! You know, it wasn't easy dealing with the shit related to Ginjou and now that he's been properly buried in the living world, I just want to forget. Can we just do that?"_

_"Hey," said Renji, "We get it. Sorry."_

_"We were just worried about you is all. We weren't trying to gang up on you or anything."_

_"Well, what's with your attitude anyway?" Ichigo said irascibly, "Usually, you'd just freaking hit me and tell me to get over it. Now you're 'worried for me?' Enough already. I'm fine!"_

_"Bullshit," said Renji, "But if that's how you want it, I'm not going to beg and plead. You do what you want, and you know where to find me if you decide to stop sulking and deal with it like a man."_

_"What?" Ichigo yelled, "You want me to deal with shit like a man? Get your fucking zanpakutou out and I'll show you who's a fucking man!"_

_"Shh! Not so loud," Rukia warned them, glancing at the room where she knew Byakuya knelt with his back to the door, reading._

_"Shut up, you stupid ass!" Renji yelled back, "I'm not trying to start a fight. I'm trying to help you, okay?"_

_"Well, find some other fucking sad sack to hit over the head with your 'friendly support,' okay? Because I don't need it!"_

_"You bastard...I...!"_

_"Renji!" Rukia hissed as Byakuya appeared on the walkway._

_"Is something wrong?" he asked, his reiatsu darkening threateningly, "Abarai, I thought that you were returning to the division to pick up the reports I asked you for."_

_"I...I am, taichou!" Renji said, his eyes going wide and sweat breaking out on his forehead, "S-sorry, I'll just...go now."_

_Byakuya glanced at Rukia._

_"I believe that you said that you had to return to the thirteenth to meet with Ukitake taichou?"_

_"Yes, Nii-sama," Rukia replied, lowering her eyes and flushing, "Ichigo, come on. I'll walk you to the central senkaimon."_

_"If I recall correctly, Kurosaki Ichigo is well acquainted with 'the way home' and he has indicated a wish for privacy. You should respect that."_

_"Of course, Nii-sama," the girl said, bowing her head lower, "I am sorry for the disturbance."_

_He didn't meet Ichigo's eyes at all._

_"Ichigo," he said in parting._

_Then, he turned back into his room, dismissing them._

"Perhaps," Byakuya said, not caring to expand on his memory of the interchange, "And?"

"And...well, Ichigo is my friend. When I have been in trouble, and I needed him, he was always there. Now, I feel like he is in some kind of pain or trouble, and I want to help him."

"But...if he is disinclined to accept your help, then you cannot help him. To continue to insist so heartily as you were, might even cause more harm. I am certain that whatever Ichigo is enduring now, he will come through it."

"I...want to believe that too, Nii-sama. He _is _a very strong person. But...as you said yourself after you were injured saving me, and Renji refused to leave your side, _even strong people have times of weakness_. And if this is one of those times for Ichigo, then I don't want him to face it alone."

Byakuya frowned.

"Rukia, what are you asking me?"

The young woman sighed and clasped her hands together nervously.

"I...know Nii-sama is busy, and that...Ichigo is sometimes a nuisance to you, but...erm...I think that because of your past struggles, Ichigo respects you. Were you to go to him...and..."

"Rukia," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I cannot involve myself in this."

"I know it is a lot to ask," Rukia went on hastily, "that you have so many responsibilities, but you _did_ tell Ichigo before that you were grateful to him for stopping you from..."

"I remember," he answered, cutting her off as a soft swell of guilt rose up inside him, "But...even were I to go to him in Karakura Town, I do not think that I could be of any help to him. He would probably simply yell at me and tell me to leave, as he did when you and Renji tried to draw him out."

"Hmmm," said Rukia, thinking, "Nii-sama, I don't think so. Ichigo...erm...he _looks at you differently_. I think that...if you went and tried to get him to talk to you, he might actually listen."

"Why would he listen to me?" Byakuya asked, his frown deepening, "The boy doesn't listen to _anyone_. He has no respect for rules or..."

"Nii-sama...please," Rukia said, her voice softening, "I beg of you. Please help him. It...it would mean so much to me!"

He tried to speak, but paused, reeling as another memory assaulted him.

_"Byakuya...please, you must find my sister..."_

He flinched and caught his breath softly as Rukia missed the sudden reaction entirely and continued talking.

"Nii-sama is so much wiser than I am and I _know_ that Ichigo would..."

"Very well, I will go to him."

"...at least _listen_ to him and hear him out...

"Rukia."

"before flying off the handle and yelling and..."

"Rukia."

Rukia blinked in surprise and stopped talking.

"Huh?"

Byakuya bit his lip to avoid smiling.

"I said that I will go to him."

Rukia's eyes went wide and disbelieving.

"You...will?" she asked, looking stunned, "B-but I thought that..."

"Did you not just say that it would mean a great deal to you to have my assistance?"

"Y-yes, but..."

"Am I not your brother?"

"Yes...yes, of course, Nii-sama!" she said quickly, "I just..."

"I will have to go under the guise of some other reason, so as to approach him without giving him the idea that you asked me to do this."

"I think you're right," Rukia said worriedly, "I think he would be angry at me for being underhanded. He doesn't like that."

"But sometimes stealth is necessary for good purposes, ne?" Byakuya suggested.

"Yes! Exactly!" Rukia exclaimed, bowing, "Thank you, Nii-sama! Thank you so much! This means everything to me. Thank you!"

"You may go. I need some time to prepare for this."

Rukia got up and walked away, still thanking him all of the way down the walkway to her room.

Byakuya shook his head and turned his back to the door, at first planning to return to the book he had been reading, then stopping and thinking more deeply about what he had just agreed to do.

_The boy is impossible. He won't listen to me. He won't listen to me at all._

_What did I just get myself into?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji looked up in surprise as the door to the sixth division opened and Byakuya entered the room.

"Taichou?" he said, looking up at the noble questioningly, "I thought that you were off today. What's going on? Did something happen?"

"No," said the noble, "I have...been ordered to see to a mission of some importance in Karakura Town...a _confidential_ mission. If anyone asks where I have gone, you are to tell them that I am attending to 'clan matters.' Do you understand?"

"Y-yeah, sure," said the redhead, "Secret mission for Soutaichou. Tell everyone you're away on clan business, right?"

"Correct," the noble said, nodding.

"Where can I get in touch with you?" Renji asked, looking back down at his paperwork, "Will you be at your clan's estate there?"

"Erm...no, actually," said Byakuya, biting at his lip and thinking, "This mission requires some amount of secrecy. So...if you need to find me, I will be staying with Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Huh? Ichigo? Taichou, he hates it when we invade his house like that! How did you convince him..."

"Nonsense," said the noble, raising an eyebrow, "He is a substitute shinigami. He is required by having accepted the badge to extend his hospitality to _all upper level officers_. To not do so would be a breach of code."

"B-but...Taichou, his room is small and...there's..."

"I am not concerned with that. I am going to Karakura Town immediately, and I will be staying at Kurosaki Ichigo's home for the duration."

"O-kay," said Renji, blinking, "But...don't you usually travel with a bunch of servants..."

"I travel with _attendants_," Byakuya corrected him, "And I do not wish to attract unnecessary attention, so I will not be taking any attendants."

"Wha...? Really, Taichou?" the redhead asked, looking stunned.

"What's wrong?" the noble asked, his reiatsu flaring softly, "Do you think that I am incapable of bathing and dressing myself? That having been raised in a noble home that I would not know how? you insult me, Abarai."

"Oh...hey, sorry, Taichou. I didn't mean to offend you. I just...you always at least travel with Torio..."

"I do not take him onto the battlefield."

"You're expecting to fight on this mission?" said Renji, looking worried, "Shouldn't I go with you, then?"

"No, you are to remain here and _not _come to Karakura Town except at Soutaichou's direct order. Someone needs to look after things while I am gone."

"All right, Taichou," Renji said, still looking uneasy, "but if you run into any trouble..."

"If I run into any trouble, I will crush it myself. Goodbye, Renji."

Byakuya strode past the redhead's desk, into the hallway and into his quarters, where he removed his uniform and changed into semi-casual living world clothing. He packed a small suitcase and then opened a family senkaimon into the living world. He arrived at Urahara Kisuke's shop without incident and stepped down into the secret training room, meeting Kisuke's eyes curtly.

"Kuchiki-san, what a surprise!" the shopkeeper said, "Are you on vacation?"

"A short-term visit," he told the man, "Clan business."

"Ah, so why not use the family estate?"

_Does everyone have to be so rudely curious as to what I am doing?_

"I do not wish to make a show of being here," he explained.

"Will you want a room here?" Kisuke asked, "I just made a new batch of that homemade sake we had last time you visited..."

"Actually, I will be staying elsewhere...at Kurosaki Ichigo's home."

"Huh?" queried the shopkeeper, "Really? I thought that after Soutaichou sent the lot of them here before the Hueco Mundo raid, he said..."

"Well, obviously, he has changed his mind," said the noble.

"Oh," said Kisuke, "That's news to me. But whatever. Enjoy your stay. And just let me know if you need any supplies, okay?"

"Very well," said the noble, turning and flash stepping away.

He left the shop and walked through the park that bordered the river, emerging just short of Ichigo's house, then slowing to a leisurely pace. He arrived at the front door just as the last light faded and knocked on the door. He heard the sound of footsteps and then the door opened. Ichigo looked out at him and started to speak, then took in the tall, black hair, slender body and familiar frown and realized that he was looking at Kuchiki Byakuya in living world clothes.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, may I come in?" he asked, rather liking the youth's reaction.

"Erm...sure, yeah, Byakuya. Come in," he said, stepping back and admitting the noble into the house, "What's going on? Is there trouble?"

"I am on a mission of some importance," Byakuya explained, "a confidential mission. I will be here for a week or so."

"Oh..." said Ichigo, scratching the back of his neck, "So...you are staying at Urahara's place? What, he wasn't there when you arrived of something?"

"He was there," said the noble.

"Eh...so, um...what brings you _here_?"

The noble sighed.

"I do not wish for it to be known what I am about here, so I cannot stay at Urahara-san's shop, nor at the estate I own here. And that leaves your home as my only other option. I apologize for the short notice."

"Wha...? You're going to stay...here?" he stammered, "But...we really don't have so much room and my..."

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya said solemnly, "You are the substitute shinigami of this town. You are _required _by the rules related to the wearing of that badge to admit and house all upper officers, such as myself, as is required to fulfill our duties."

"Aww, come on..." Ichigo complained, "You don't really want to...?"

"It has been a rather long day," Byakuya said, stepping past him and starting up the stairs. Ichigo made a furious face, then closed the front door and followed Byakuya up the stairs and into his room. He looked around and then back at Ichigo. The youth's lips tightened rebelliously and he pointed to the closet.

"You can stay in there, like Rukia did when she was here."

Byakuya risked a glance into the small closet, noting the cramped shelf that had substituted for a bed for his sister.

"Fine," he said, making Ichigo's jaw drop, "If you will excuse me, I need to change.

He walked into the closet and closed the door, then emerged a short time later dressed in a very attractive dark red yukata. Ichigo stared at his long, unbound hair, lovely nightclothes and bare feet and tried to think of something to say.

"May I borrow your desk?" the noble asked, "I need to write a report on the day's events."

"Ah, sure," Ichigo said, sitting down on the bed.

He watched quietly as Byakuya wrote something down in a book that he had brought, then turned off the light and slipped back into the closrt. Ichigo laid down on his bed, musing silently.

_Kuchiki Byakuya is sleeping in my closet?_

_Really?_

_Shit..._

He shook his head to clear it, then settled in his bed and drifted quickly off to sleep.

Some time later, Byakuya emerged from the small closet, unable to sleep in the cramped space. He looked around and noticed how much extra space there was in Ichigo's bed. Moving to the youth's side, he laid a palm on Ichigo's forehead to deepen his sleep, then he slipped into the bed next to the youth and stretched out comfortably.

_I can sleep here for most of the night and slip back into the closet before he wakes..._

He lost some of his confidence in his plan when Ichigo rolled over and wrapped himself around the shocked noble, still very much asleep.

_Ah...well...I might wake him if I get up now. And in any case, I'll get no sleep in that closet...so..._


	2. The Dreamcatcher Kido

**Chapter 2: The Resonance**

Byakuya was not surprised when he woke to find that Ichigo still slept soundly. What surprised him was the fact of how the young man was still wound so warmly around his body. Byakuya had only ever been to bed with his former wife. And for all that Hisana had loved him, she was a small, frail woman, who had curled lightly into his arms and he had held her. No one had ever held Kuchiki Byakuya like this. Had there been any chance that Ichigo knew what he was doing, Byakuya would have reacted with anger...with indignation.

But knowing that the kido he had used earlier was making Ichigo sleep more deeply, Byakuya simply accepted the embrace quietly and set about the task he had accepted from his sister...finding out what was beneath the young man's melancholy and assisting him in the abatement of it. Part of his approach involved the kido that relaxed the target into deeper sleep, making them more likely to reach the dreaming stage. And there was another kido he knew, one typically used between lovers. But it would prove useful in giving him insight into what the young man was experiencing as he dreamt.

He waited until he saw the increase of movement beneath the youth's eyelids that signified REM sleep, then invoked the dreamcatcher kido. He had used it on occasion when Hisana's dreams about Inuzuri had troubled her, and so he was familiar with the dreamy swirl of power that curled around him, and the slight feeling of falling as he entered Ichigo's dream.

_He looked around and found himself in a building he had never been to before. The darkness and quiet around him signified that it was late at night. He could feel Ichigo's presence, as well as the presence of several of the fullbringers. He moved forward cautiously, knowing that even though it was a dream, it did leave him vulnerable to the parameters of Ichigo's mind...one of the reasons that only powerful shinigamis ever used the dreamcatcher kido. It was possible for a person to be attacked, harmed, trapped or even killed while in the other person's mind, because it required that both minds be opened. Had Ichigo been aware of him using the kido, he could have manipulated the situation. The danger with him not knowing, was of course, that he could react rashly upon noticing that Byakuya was there. It was necessary then to proceed with some amount of caution._

_He sensed Ichigo's reiatsu and moved towards the room where he seemed to be. Sensing another presence in the room, he didn't enter right away, but peeked through the door, that was opened a crack, just enough for him to see inside._

_"Ichigo," the fullbringer, Ginjo was saying, as he sat on the far side of the bed with his arm around the shinigami substitute, "I know that...losing your powers has been a difficult thing for you. And we are going to see that you have what you need to protect your family...your friends..."_

_Byakuya's reiatsu darkened at the words, because even as Ginjo said them in such a sincere tone, he knew the man now to be a liar._

_"Did this really happen?" he breathed silently, slipping into the room, "Is this what torments you...Kurosaki Ichigo?"_

_A black shiver of fury went through the noble as Ginjo turned and touched Ichigo's face with gentle fingertips. Ichigo inhaled sharply and stiffened, looking up at the fullbringer with questioning eyes._

_"What are you doing?" he asked shakenly, "Ginjo..."_

_Ginjo paused, his eyes turning amorous as they looked down into the younger man's._

_"What am I doing?" Ginjo repeated softly, his face moving closer to Ichigo's, making the shinigami substitute flinch nervously, "Ichigo...that we are working so closely together, do you not feel what is happening?"_

_"What...is happening?" Ichigo whispered, his face paling._

_"The blending of our energies in our training makes us resonate," explained Ginjo, "and that resonance finds within us if there is an attraction, and...heightens it."_

_His fingers tightened on Ichigo's face, and he moved closer, letting his lips brush very lightly against Ichigo's. Ichigo tensed, staring at Ginjo, then started to pull away, but was brought down on his back on the bed as Ginjo's mouth captured his, an his tongue thrust between Ichigo's protesting lips._

_"G-ginjo...stop!" he gasped, trying to pull away._

_Across the room, Byakuya's body went taut as he considered what to do._

_"This may be a dream, but I will not stand by and let that man rape you..." he whispered, preparing to move forward._

_He stopped as Ginjo's lips and hands released the shinigami substitute, and the fullbringer sat up, running his fingers through his own hair and sighing in a way that sounded regretful._

_And the damning fact, Byakuya mused silently to himself, is that, if I recall correctly, Tsukishima had used his power to make Ginjo believe that he was truly an enemy and that Ichigo was an ally. Ichigo, for all that he is young, would likely have sensed if the man was faking, but in a sense, this was real. But...that means that at the end, when Tsukishima cut him again..._

_He left off as Ichigo sat up next to Ginjo, his fingers touching his lips where the other man had kissed him._

_"Sorry," Ichigo said solemnly, "I reacted badly."_

_"It is all right," Ginjo said warmly, "I must have surprised you...and perhaps you are not interested in a man..."_

_Ichigo blushed and Byakuya felt his heart catch oddly._

_"Ah...I just...the truth is, I never...I never really gave it consideration. I mean, I've had thoughts here and there that a man I knew was beautiful."_

_"Oh? Such as whom? Should I be jealous?" asked Ginjo in a gentle, teasing tone._

_"Naw...the guy wasn't one who would ever return the feeling. He's a noble...powerful, really handsome. But he's so damned snobbish, he would never lower himself to notice someone like me. I don't know that I ever really thought about...you know...being serious with him. But who wouldn't notice, ne?"_

_Ichigo thinks that? Byakuya wondered, his eyes widening, about me?_

_"And besides," Ichigo went on, "I have never..."_

_He paused, blushing more brightly. Ginjo captured his chin and brought their eyes together._

_"You are...a virgin, Ichigo?" he asked, smiling at the way Ichigo's eyes widened and his body shivered in response, "I think it would be...truly beautiful, Ichigo, if you would give up your virginity to me...tonight."_

_"G-ginjo, I don't...I don't know...I..." Ichigo stammered._

_Ginjo leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the younger man, and attacking his protesting mouth hungrily. His hands worked at the ginger-haired youth's nightclothes, moving them aside just enough to work around them. Ginjo's hands slipped beneath Ichigo's top and his fingertips stroked the youth's hardened nipples, as he laid on top of him, moving his hips, and making their erections touch through their clothes._

_Byakuya bit his lip and frowned, but was no longer sure whether or not to intervene._

_As much as it rankles me to see that...person...do this to him, it is consensual, and just a dream..._

_"G-ginjou...n-no! L-look, stop, okay?" Ichigo panted, "I just...I need to think about this!"_

_"What is to think about?" Ginjou said, reaching into Ichigo's pants and sliding his hand up and down the trapped youth's erect penis, "It feels good, ne? We both want it...you know that."_

_"I...Ginjou, stop...please, I'm not r-ready. I...!"_

_Byakuya's reiatsu swelled fitfully as the fullbringer continued to pressure the younger man, touching and kissing him, relentlessly, until Ichigo was sweating heavily, panting too hard to speak, and nearly senseless._

_I cannot watch this anymore. Ichigo does not want this...It is...he's pressuring him. And later, when Tsukishima..._

_"Please, stop..." Ichigo whispered one last time, as Ginjou moved in to take him._

_The fullbringer froze as Byakuya's zanpakutou touched his back._

_"Get off of him," the noble said darkly, "Or I will remove your head!"_

_Ichigo's face went white._

_"B-byakuya! What? I thought that..."_

_"Likely, the training you are receiving is affecting you somewhat, so that you can sense me," the noble lied._

_He reached past Ginjou, took Ichigo's hand and pulled him to his feet._

_"My apologies for invading your privacy. I was ordered by Soutaichou to protect you, to watch over you. And while seeing to that duty, I witnessed this man pressuring you, when you clearly were not prepared to..."_

_Byakuya broke off, making a sound of surprise and intense pain as Ginjou's sword ran him through from behind. His knees weakened and blood running out of his mouth, he fell at Ichigo's feet. Ichigo's eyes rounded and he screamed at Ginjou._

_"What the hell did you do that for? Byakuya!"_

_Ichigo dropped down next to him, trying to stop the flow of blood down his body._

_"It is...all right," the noble said, trying to sound more calm than he felt, "It is your dream. He cannot..."_

_Ginjou yanked the sword out of his back, making blood explode from his body._

_"Wh-what?" the noble managed, "But...this is your...he..."_

_But despite the fact that Ginjou shouldn't have been able to hurt him, Byakuya felt the hard shock to his systems, and shattered the dreamcatcher kido to send them back into wakefulness. Ichigo sat bolt upright, screaming in dismay, then stopped himself and drew back as he realized that Byakuya was in his bed._

"What the...? What the hell are you DOING IN MY BED?" he shouted, prompting running feet outside his bedroom door.

"Ichigo, are you okay?" yelled Karin.

"Ah...yeah," Ichigo said, biting back his words and turning to talk to Byakuya more quietly.

He glared down at the wide-eyed noble, starting to issue a scathing comment, but then stopping again as he realized that Byakuya seemed frozen as he was.

"B-byakuya?" Ichigo called to him, "Hey...are you...? Are you okay?"

The noble remained perfectly still and, Ichigo realized suddenly, not breathing.

"Oh my god! Byakuya!" Ichigo gasped, grabbing Kon and shifting quickly to shinigami form. He lifted the unresponsive taichou over his shoulder and flash stepped out his window, moving at top speed as he ran through the park near his house, past the river, and over to Kisuke's shop. He burst heedlessly through the front door, yelling for the shopkeeper, who appeared in his pajamas, in the hallway, a moment later.

"Ichigo," he yawned, "you scared the shit out of..."

"Kisuke! He's not breathing!" Ichigo panted desperately, "You h-have to help him!"

"In there," the shopkeeper said, indicating a room at the near end of the hall.

Ichigo flash stepped into the room and laid Byakuya down on the bed in his back. Kisuke leaned over the noble, examining him swiftly, then ordering Ichigo back, away from the bed.

"He's in some kinda shock. Something happened. I have to shock his system again to see if I can bring him out of it."

"Wh-what?" said Ichigo, dazedly, "You have to...?"

"Stand back, okay?"

Ichigo swallowed hard, watching as the shopkeeper opened Byakuya's yukata and placed a palm over his heart, and another over his lower abdomen. He lowered his head, and sent a jolt through Byakuya's body, making it jump and causing a bright flash of light around him. Byakuya was still not breathing after the first, and then the second jolt, but came awake suddenly after the third, groaning and holding his chest with one clenched hand. He realized belatedly that Ichigo was there, and that he was staring fixedly at where Byakuya's top was open and the noble was still clutching at his chest. The noble blushed and quickly covered up.

"Are you all right?" the shinigami substitute asked him, still white-faced with worry, "You stopped breathing!"

Byakuya coughed a few time, then seemed to settle.

"Are you okay now, Byakuya-san?" asked the shopkeeper, looking genuinely concerned, "Can you tell me how this happened?"

Byakuya hesitated for a moment, then nodded briefly.

"I...appear to have...been drawn into one of Kurosaki Ichigo's dreams."

He didn't miss how Ichigo stiffened at the words.

"I do not remember very much, but I do know that I was attacked by the fullbringer, Kugo Ginjou in Ichigo's dream."

Urahara gave him an odd look, then nodded.

"But...why did it do that to you?" Ichigo objected, "I mean, I have dreams of being attacked sometimes and don't have that kind of reaction. Why the hell did you?"

"I...am not sure," Byakuya said quietly, "I know I should not have."

"It's a concern too," Kisuke added, "that it was a person other than one of you two who did this to Byakuya-san. Normally, to cause such a strong reaction, the person would have to be attacked by the person who is sharing the dream with him or her."

"So what does it mean that Byakuya was hurt by Ginjou?" asked Ichigo.

"I'm not sure, kid," said Kisuke, "but I'm going to find out. Byakuya-san, would you mind staying here tonight, so I can monitor your sleep, to make sure that you don't suffer any more episodes, and to see if I can get to the bottom of what exactly happened?"

"I suppose that it is not a problem," said the noble, "I am not on a strict schedule for my mission here."

"Good," said the shopkeeper, "because this could take some time."

"Well, then we had best get started," Byakuya said, blinking sleepily, "I would like to get a bit more sleep tonight."

"Yeah, well, we just wanna make sure you keep breathing while you so that, okay?" said Kisuke.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" asked Ichigo, making Byakuya gaze quietly at him in surprise, "To make sure that...nothing goes wrong?"

"I appreciate you concern," Byakuya said, blushing slightly as he suddenly remembered what Ichigo had said about him in the dream, "But, I will be fine, Ichigo. I am sorry to have disrupted your sleep."

"Yeah," said Ichigo, too tired to object too much, "Just next time, don't crawl into my bed with me and I won't get you involved in my dream, okay?"

"You...?" Kisuke muttered, looking at the two in surprised, "And...?"

"I only climbed into his bed because the closet was too small," explained the noble.

"Told you that you shoulda stayed with me," said Kisuke.

"I will remember that next time," the noble said dryly.

"Ichigo," said Kisuke, "Why don't you go and crash in the next bedroom over fro here. Just...keep you dreams to yourself, okay?"

"Okay, okay!" said Ichigo, "Geez, I didn't try to hurt Byakuya..."

"It's okay. Just let it go, kid. All's well that ends well, ne?"

Byakuya and Kisuke watched as Ichigo left the room, then the shopkeeper gave the noble a stern look.

"Okay, Byakuya-san, Ichigo's gone. Why don't you come clean with me now? You used a dreamcatcher's kido to invade Ichigo's dream, didn't you? You want to tell me why?"


	3. Dream Invasion

**Chapter 3: Dream Invasion**

_"Okay, Byakuya-san, Ichigo's gone. Why don't you come clean with me now? You used a dreamcatcher's kido to invade Ichigo's dream, didn't you? You want to tell me why?"_

"I am sure that I do not know what you are talking about," Byakuya said off-handedly, "I told you. I was staying at Ichigo's house..."

"...in the closet," Kisuke said, smirking.

"But it was uncomfortably small, so I..."

"...came out of the closet?"

Byakuya scowled.

"Is this some kind of joke to you?" the noble asked darkly, "You might remember that I was nearly killed!"

Kisuke's eyes narrowed and glinted dangerously.

"Of the two of us, I think it would be _you_ who seems to need the reminder," he answered evenly, "Now, do you want me to ask the question again, or are you just going to give me the same answer?"

"I do not think I need to qualify your accusations with _any _kind of answer," Byakuya replied stiffly, "The question of what technique caused me to end up in Kurosaki Ichigo's dream is not nearly so important as why I could be injured in his dream by someone other than Ichigo, himself."

"Fine," Kisuke muttered, "you want to be pig-headed about this and not give me all of the information, then don't blame me if I come to a faulty conclusion because of it."

"Do not attempt to blame _me_ if you are not the level of scientist who can analyze such things with accuracy," the noble countered.

"Stubborn ass..." Kisuke huffed, "Whatever...just lie down. The sooner we put you to sleep, the sooner we can get to the bottom of what's going on here."

"By all means, then, please stop talking to me," Byakuya said dryly, following the shopkeeper to the bed he had indicated.

The noble laid down on the bed and waited as Kisuke set a number of electrodes in place on his forehead and chest.

"Urahara Kisuke," Byakuya said disapprovingly, "I do not think that I will be able to reach the deeper stages of sleep necessary for dreaming with all of this annoying apparatus around me. And unless I sleep deeply enough to dream, it defeats the purpose of this, ne?"

"Heh," Kisuke chuckled, "You let me worry about that, Byakuya-san. You just close those big pretty eyes of yours and let me worry about the rest, okay?"

Byakuya's eyes narrowed into a warning glare.

"Do not talk down to me," he said in a lower, more angry tone, "I am only submitting to this because there are unanswered questions that I do not feel comfortable leaving be. But if you think that..."

Byakuya's words trailed off as the shopkeeper sent a pulse of kido through the electrodes connected to the frowning noble's forehead, and Byakuya instantly dropped off to sleep.

Kisuke grinned.

"You see, Byakuya-san, nothing to worry about. I have it all under control. And now that I have you nice and quiet so I can focus without fear of being killed by one of your wicked glares, let's see if I can't get to the bottom of what's going on here."

He watched the noble's vital signs carefully as Byakuya relaxed into sleep and began to sink slowly deeper and deeper by degrees. The room went nearly silent and Kisuke's expression became intensely serious as the noble became more and more entrenched in sleep.

_This guy and I might not always get along, but we are allies, and we both have a stake in this. And more than that, I figure that anything that can nearly kill Kuchiki Byakuya, even when the guy's being damned reckless, is something the rest of us had better be aware of and ready to handle._

Kisuke frowned at the sudden complaint of one of the monitors. He scowled and tapped the device several times.

"What are you up to?"

He fiddled briefly with several of the machines around the bed, scowling and shaking his head.

"What the...? What _is _this? Room's shielded, but...huh...weird. Really weird."

He called Tessai into the room and left him watching the monitors as he flash stepped to his personal library and gathered several volumes. He returned to the laboratory and read swiftly as Tessai continued to monitor the noble. His eyes flicked to Byakuya as the noble groaned fitfully and broke out in a sweat, shifting in his sleep.

"N-no..." he whispered, his voice barely audible, "I'm...not ready for this..."

"Huh..."

"Boss?" Tessai said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Did you notice? That didn't sound like him."

"Hmmm..." Kisuke said, watching Byakuya closely, "You're right. The tone, inflection...even the words...not so much like him. I wonder..."

"S-stop!" Byakuya whispered, again in that unusually uncertain and pleading tone.

Kisuke and Tessai stared.

"What's going on? I mean, we all have dreams where we're kinda not ourselves sometimes..."

He thought for a moment and smirked, shaking his head.

"Like the time I dreamed that I was in this really sexy..."

"Boss," Tessai said in a deeply respectful tone, "I think we must focus on the problem at hand."

"Sorry," chuckled Kisuke, watching curiously as Byakuya's hands moved until they rested on either side of his head.

_Like he's being held down._

_But what the hell could hold him down and make him so passive? This isn't like our dark prince Kuchiki at all...nope..._

He gazed raptly at the noble as Byakuya's head suddenly turned aside.

"Stop it!" he cried, nearly bringing himself awake.

Kisuke's head jerked upward and his eyes widened.

"Boss, should we wake hi...?"

"Shh!" Kisuke said, rising and walking to the laboratory door, then opening it.

He kept his eyes focused on the noble and listened deeply.

Byakuya shifted again, his hands clenching, and his body shaking softly.

"Please stop!"

The shopkeeper's brow furrowed.

_Okay, not only was that not something Kuchiki Byakuya would never say, awake, asleep, unconscious or dead. That wasn't just him saying that..._

_Ichigo..._

His thoughts went blank as Byakuya gave a terrified cry and sat up suddenly.

_That wasn't just Byakuya...it was...!_

"Watch him, Tessai!" the shopkeeper shouted, turning into the hallway and flash stepping to Ichigo's bedroom door.

He pushed the door open and found the ginger-haired youth sitting up in bed, his face bathed in sweat and his chest heaving softly.

"You okay, kid?" he asked softly, "I heard you yell something."

"S-sorry," Ichigo mumbled, turning away and settling down again, "I'm fine. It was just a bad dream."

Kisuke watched until he was sure that the youth had fallen asleep, then he approached the bed and used a quick kido spell to make sure that he wouldn't wake. He lifted Ichigo and carried him back to the laboratory, where he laid him in a second bed and connected him to same monitors that were recording Byakuya's readings. He sat down next to Tessai and the once again sleeping noble.

"You use a kido spell or did he...?"

"He said, 'I'm fine. It was just a bad dream.' Then he went back to sleep."

"Huh," mused Kisuke, looking from Ichigo's readings to Byakuya's and back again.

He touched several controls, taking the two deeper into sleep, then watched quietly.

"Try to watch them both," he said to Tessai in a low, soft voice, "I wanna see if your impression is the same as mine."

The two went quiet as Byakuya and Ichigo reached REM sleep and started to dream. Both of the watching men caught their breath in surprise as the readings of both sleeping males fell into perfect synchronization.

_Breathing...heartbeat...synapses...everything! _thought Kisuke, sweat breaking out on his skin, _It's like they're in the same body..._

He and Tessai stared in wonder as Byakuya's lips moved again in perfect synchronization with Ichigo's.

"Stop...!"

Kisuke shook his head and let out an anxious breath.

"That is...really bizarre," he breathed.

"You want me to wake them up now?" asked Tessai.

Kisuke started to answer, but stopped in surprise as both Ichigo's and Byakuya's hands moved into that odd position, looking as though they were held down, again.

"I said, stop it!" they both cried, "Stop it, Ginj...!"

Both came awake, looking dazed and disoriented, gripping the bedding and staring intently for a moment. Byakuya took a steadying breath and calmed, but Ichigo looked around, realized where he was and went nearly red-eyed with sudden fury.

"What the hell is this? What are you _doing_?"

"Eh, Kurosaki-san," Kisuke said, smiling and trying to calm him, "We just noticed an oddity in Byakuya-san's sleep pattern and..."

"I didn't give you permission to bring me in here and hook me up to this shit! What is _wrong_ with you? We came here because Byakuya almost died! I didn't give you permission to _touch me_!"

He tore off the electrodes and stood, knocking over several implements.

"Ah, Ichigo-san..." Kisuke began, laying a hand on his arm.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME, YOU MANIPULATING FREAK!" Ichigo shouted, "You don't put your hands on me, EVER, if I don't give you permission!"

The three other men stared in silence as Ichigo flash stepped away, making the air swirl fitfully in his wake. Byakuya's lips tightened and he frowned meaningfully at Kisuke.

"I see that you are as socially adept as usual in your pursuits," he commented dryly, reaching up to carefully remove the electrodes, then sliding to his feet.

"Ah...Byakuya-san, you can't abandon me too," the shopkeeper complained, "Obviously, Ichigo-san has a real problem..."

"One that he has not given you permission to analyze," Byakuya reminded him curtly, "And...I find my own faith in you lacking."

"But...!"

"I am returning to Kuchiki Manor," the noble said shortly, "Should Ichigo change his mind and give you permission to pursue your suspicions, then I will, of course, cooperate."

"And until then, you want me to just leave the kid in torment, is that what you're saying?" Kisuke asked angrily.

Byakuya looked back at him calmly.

"I think that you and I both understand what that means to me as well. I assure you, I do not make the decision lightly. I am taking a necessary risk."

"Necessary?" Kisuke repeated unhappily, "I don't know about that, Byakuya-san. You are taking awful risks, both of you, by turning a blind eye to what's happening."

"Ichigo must come to the decision to seek help for this...or not," Byakuya said quietly, "I respect his need to do that...and you should, as well. What risk there is, is ours to take. And the consequences are ours to bear as well."

"Yeah?" Kisuke said, his face flushing with barely controlled anger, "Well, you just remember that if either of you dies next time, it won't just be you bearing the consequences then, will it?"

Byakuya answered him with a swift, cutting flash step.

"Stupid, goddamned jackass!" muttered the shopkeeper.

He rubbed his hands over his face, then met Tessai's tired eyes.

"Okay...we lost our subjects," he sighed, "but we have a mountain of data to sort through."

"But what good will it do if Kurosaki-san continues to be angry and refuses to cooperate with us?"

"Don't worry about that," Kisuke said brusquely, "We'll just jump off that bridge when we get to it, okay?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo slid to a stop along the edge of the river, and stood, staring down into the dark, moonlit water, panting softly and looking down at his shaking hands.

_He was there._

_He was there in my dreams. I felt it._

_Byakuya knows..._

A feeling of sickness flashed over him, making him drop to his knees. He closed his eyes against the sensation and tried to slow his breathing.

_I didn't see him this time. It was...really weird. But...I felt that he was there with me. I know that he saw the whole thing! He saw how weak I was...how I let that guy manipulate me...how I let him touch me like that._

_Kami, how could I let him touch me like that?_

_I'd never thought before that I was gay or bisexual. I'd never let anyone touch me sexually. I didn't feel comfortable with anyone enough to let them do that._

_But Ginjou wouldn't stop. He kept talking and touching me, trying to convince me. And what happened that time...the first time. I still wonder._

_Was that consensual sex?_

_I mean, I told him to stop. I never said that it was okay. But in the end, I stopped fighting him and I let him do it. He said that we were making love, but I didn't feel close to him. I felt...strangled. There was pleasure. And I even had sex with him other times after that. I started to feel like it might be okay...like he really must love me._

_And the crazy thing is...that because he'd had Tsukishima cut him, Ginjou really was in love with me._

Tears leaked onto his face as he remembered.

_"Ichigo," Uryuu said in a warning voice, "The man who injured me...is the man that is standing behind you!"_

_"Wh-what?"_

_Shock flooded his body as Ginjou's sword slashed him and the fullbringer's laugh mocked him._

"S-stop..." the youth told himself, trying to force the thought away, "It's over..."

But the sick feeling refused to leave him.

"Ichigo?"

He sucked in a sharp breath at the sound of Byakuya's calm, quiet voice, then turned his head away.

"Are you all right?" Byakuya asked.

"How did you find me?" Ichigo managed thickly, "What do you want?"

"I found you because your reiatsu leaks out even more than usual when you are distraught," the noble answered softly, "and...I want only one thing."

Ichigo wiped his eyes and met Byakuya's warningly.

_Don't ask me anything about this. You may have invaded my dreams, but I'm not asking for your help or anyone elses!_

"What?"

Byakuya extended a slender hand, and captured one of his. As Ichigo watched, he traced a symbol on the back of Ichigo's hand, then sealed it with a touch of his own reiatsu.

"What is that? What did you do?" Ichigo asked, his anger beginning to flare again.

"It is an invitation," Byakuya said in a barely audible voice, "If...you are burdened, and you so wish it, you need only focus on that symbol and the family senkaimon will open for you."

Ichigo stared at him silently, unsure of how to answer.

"You are not ready yet to confide what happened in anyone, and I will respect that," the noble went on, "But...I think that you will soon come to the realization that handling something like this alone is not the best way to find resolution. I only mean to give you a safe avenue to walk when that happens. I will leave you now. And...do not concern yourself with what I might have seen. I will not speak of it without your permission."

Ichigo tried to think of an answer, but could think of nothing to say. He only watched quietly as the noble disappeared into a senkaimon he opened, then he sat on the riverbank, staring at his hand where he sensed the symbol that was hidden there. Byakuya's words sounded in his mind again.

_You are not ready yet to confide what happened in anyone, and I will respect that. But...I think that you will soon come to the realization that handling something like this alone is not the best way to find resolution. I only mean to give you a safe avenue to walk when that happens._

He let out a soft breath and felt a sense of calm pass through him. He climbed back to his feet and turned in the direction of his home.

"Thanks, Byakuya," he whispered, the irony of the words making his lips curve into a little smile.


	4. Little Voices

**Chapter 4: Little Voices**

Byakuya stepped out of the family senkaimon and into the darkened gardens. A light rain was just beginning, and cooled the slight blush on the noble's skin. He wasn't sure why it was there, but was highly aware of when it had arisen. He remembered again the tickle of emotion that had passed through him when his hand had touched Ichigo's to place the senkaimon permission marker on him.

_Yes, _he thought, shivering more from the memory than from the chill in the air, _I did feel something. But then, Ichigo is a handsome young man. Who would not be affected by him, ne?_

He let out a soft breath, forcing the incident from his mind, and was almost thankful for the distraction when Rukia appeared on the walkway. He realized suddenly that he was still standing in the rain.

"Nii-sama, you are back!" she exclaimed, watching him, wide-eyed as he joined her on the walkway, "How did things go with Ichigo? Were you able to get him to talk to you?"

She took a closer look at him and frowned.

"Are you all right, Nii-sama? You don't look like you've slept much at all. And you're soaking wet."

"I am fine," Byakuya assured her, "Regrettably, I was not able to coax Ichigo into sharing what is troubling him. But, I did leave an open door for him to come here if he wishes. I am afraid that I must ask you to leave it alone for now. I know you wish to help, but right now, he needs to give thought to things himself."

"But, Nii-sama, he seems so unhappy," Rukia objected, "Something is really wearing on him."

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, "And if we intrude now, we will only add to the burden he carries. If you want help your friend, I suggest that what you need to give him right now is space. If you crowd him, he will only move away, but if you step back, he may choose to move towards you."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Then, you could not have helped him, even had you forced the issue," the clan leader concluded.

Rukia gave him a crestfallen look.

"You're probably right," she sighed, "But I'm worried about him."

"So it seems," noted Byakuya, "Otherwise, you would be sleeping."

"Ah, I have to be up early anyway for a mission for Ukitake taichou. I was going to have an early breakfast and then go."

"I would join you, however..."

"Oh that's all right, Nii-sama," Rukia said, managing a small smile, "Tetsuya is having breakfast with me, and then he said that after morning rounds, he will take me to the thirteenth division on Arashi."

"Ah, very well."

"You try to get some more sleep, Nii-sama," Rukia said, still looking worried, "You look like you were up all night. And...well, thank you for trying to help Ichigo."

"You are welcome," he said, turning into his bedroom.

He waved off his attendant and closed the garden doors, secluding himself in his room and leaving the lights off. On quiet feet, he moved to his bed and slipped in under the covers, sighing at the return of comfort and quiet of his own home. He dropped off to sleep quickly, and found himself dreaming again.

_He felt the touch of cold metal, a sharp point pressed to his throat and came awake suddenly. He found himself looking up into the dark, malevolent eyes of the dead fullbringer, Ginjou. He knew that, positioned thus, even the utsusemi flash step would not save him, so he looked into the other man's eyes and waited for him to speak._

_"Kuchiki Byakuya," Ginjou said, smirking and continuing to hold his sword to the noble's throat, "You must wonder why you are seeing me again, ne?"_

_"Yes," Byakuya answered calmly._

_"You are curious, I am sure, why I could cut you in Ichigo's dream and nearly kill you, no?"_

_"I am. Is that why you are here?"_

_Ginjou's eyes blinked slowly, and his expression grew more dangerous._

_"I am here because you got in my way. You invaded Ichigo's mind, so I invaded yours."_

_"How is it that you are able to do this?" Byakuya asked, "I assume that you invaded Ichigo's mind while you were raping him, but-"_

_"I didn't rape Ichigo," insisted Ginjou, "He went along with me, in the end."_

_"You manipulated his emotions."_

_"What does it matter? In the end, he didn't try to stop me."_

_"He only stopped fighting you. He never agreed to having sex with you, and you were aware of this when you took him."_

_"Details," Ginjou said callously, "It is not important right now. Right now, the only thing that is important is that you understand that I will destroy you if you interfere anymore. And just in case you have any ideas about helping Kurosaki, I think I'll remind you that he's not the only one with skeletons in his closet. You have a few of your own, don't you, Kuchiki Byakuya!"_

_"What do you mean by that? Explain yourself!"_

_His room and Ginjou disappeared and Byakuya found himself sitting at a small table near an open window in the taichou's quarters of the fifth division. He looked down at the page in front of him and frowned._

_What?_

_He looked at his hand that held the brush and felt the breath leave his body._

_This is...!_

_"Lovely," said Aizen taichou, looking over his shoulder, "Perfectly done, as usual."_

_"Arigatou, Aizen taichou," he said, his voice lighter and far more youthful._

_"And I thank you for being willing to change the location for our lesson, Byakuya-kun. Although you must think it strange that I would ask you to meet me here, in my quarters."_

_"Well, you did say that you had a meeting to prepare for, ne?" he answered._

_"Ah, yes. But you are an intelligent boy, aren't you?" the man said smoothly, "I am sure that you understand the hidden meanings in the things that people say?"_

_"Ah," he said, blinking as the fifth division taichou slipped the haori off of his shoulders and released the tie at his waist, then bared his upper body._

_Sweat broke out on his forehead and his heart began to pound oddly._

_"I don't know what you mean."_

_"No?" Aizen said, smiling and moving closer._

_A commanding hand wrapped around Byakuya's wrist and the brush dropped from his hand, clattering on the desktop then rolling off and dropping onto the floor._

_"Aizen taichou!" he gasped as the older man's mouth fastened tightly on his, stealing his breath away so that the room spun._

_He felt an odd shock pass through his young body and he went limp, only to be caught up and lifted out of the chair._

_"N-no!"_

_"It's all right. It won't hurt. And I promise you, you won't even remember this."_

Byakuya came awake suddenly, his heart pounding and eyes wide, and sweat dampening his forehead and heaving chest.

_What...was that?_

_How would Kugo Ginjou know about that? I never spoke of it to another living soul! I didn't even fully remember it until after Aizen betrayed us! _

_What does it mean that this representation of him in my dream is able to see into my mind? Is this just my own mind playing tricks on me? Or is this some part of that man that has been affecting Ichigo and somehow entered my mind when I was attacked in Ichigo's dream? And if this man did do something to Ichigo's mind and now mine, what is his goal? Is he trying to just torment Ichigo? Or does he have a darker purpose even?_

_Who would I go to for answers about this? I do not enjoy having to depend on Urahara Kisuke, but he does seem to be the one person who possesses the skills needed to answer these questions._

_Yet, it seems clear that I have been warned not to look into this._

Byakuya's eyes widened suddenly with realization.

_Is Kugo Ginjou threatening to let Ichigo see that? Can he do that?_

He swallowed hard, another dark, dim memory returning.

_"Are you all right, Byakuya-kun? You look pale?"_

_"I...I am fine," Byakuya answered quickly, his fingers shaking slightly where they held his satchel._

_He wondered at the odd feeling of wetness, the ache between his thighs, the burning in his eyes and throat, and the slight taste of blood in his mouth._

_"Well, you had best be going before your grandfather thinks you've gone missing, ne?"_

_He looked at the clock and felt a twinge of shock at the time. He tried to remember what had happened, but could only recall the usual lesson in calligraphy._

_But there was no way that the lesson could have taken so long._

_"Byakuya-kun?"_

_"Ah, gomen nasai, Aizen taichou. I became lost in thought," he stammered._

_"Quite all right," Aizen assured him, smiling kindly, "Run along now. I will see you next week."_

_"Good day, Aizen taichou."_

A wave of revulsion passed through him, and for what might be the hundredth time, he wished an uglier fate for that man who occupied a cell in the lowest level of Central 46's prison.

_But thanks to Ichigo, Aizen no longer walks free. And that is why, despite whatever concerns I may have about him learning of what happened in my past, I must assist Ichigo in facing whatever this is._

_But what will I do? I do not understand what is at work here. And if I am too obvious in following up on this, then Ichigo could take it as an invasion of his private life. I know he needs help, but he won't trust me if I act on this without his input._

_But Ichigo is not ready to speak of this to anyone._

_What should I do?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo sat quietly at his desk, his face rested on his open palm and his red, weary eyes intense.

_What am I supposed to do? _

_I thought that if I just tried to force him out of my mind that the dreams would stop. But, they haven't stopped, and now Byakuya knows about what happened. He knows that I let that guy talk me into having sex with him. He knows I let him inside my body, inside my mind. I don't know why I let him do that to me. I was capable of stopping him if I'd really tried. But I believed his lies. They may have been the truth when he said them to me, but they were lies, because he was never really my friend or in love with me! It was all just because of Tsukishima cutting him._

_Kami, I let that guy touch me places where no one ever has. I let him into my heart. I let him into my body and into my soul. And everything that Ginjou touched is tainted now. Even though I found the strength to kill him, I can't wash that away._

_And it makes me feel dirty...used...defiled._

A frustrated tear rolled down his cheek.

_I wonder if Byakuya regrets helping me to regain my powers. I wonder if the others would, if they knew._

_It's so weird. Up until now, whatever happened, I always went to Kisuke. Even now, I feel bad about how I acted. I don't know why I got so mad, why I can't talk to him. I guess I just keep thinking about how all of these friends of mine trusted me. But I let Ginjou into my life. I bought into that crap he handed me and let him in. And he had Tsukishima attack Inoue, Chad, Karin, Yuzu._

He reached up and wiped away another stubborn tear, then stiffened suddenly.

_Tsukishima cut Byakuya too!_

_What if...? Ah, but Tsukishima is dead, and Ginjou said that all traces of a fullbringer's ability will disappear if they die._

_Gods, I feel like I'm getting paranoid! I let that guy really mess with my head. But I won't let him win! Damn it, I won't!_

He bit his lip gently, looking down at his hand and feeling again the gentle touch of Byakuya's cool fingertips there.

_"If...you are burdened, and you so wish it, you need only focus on that symbol and the family senkaimon will open for you."_

_Ichigo stared at him silently, unsure of how to answer._

_"You are not ready yet to confide what happened in anyone, and I will respect that," the noble went on, "But...I think that you will soon come to the realization that handling something like this alone is not the best way to find resolution. I only mean to give you a safe avenue to walk when that happens. I will leave you now. And...do not concern yourself with what I might have seen. I will not speak of it without your permission."_

Ichigo let out a soft, thoughtful sigh.

"Maybe he's right," the ginger-haired youth whispered, "But, what if he doesn't understand? What if he can't look at me anymore without seeing what I've done? What if I tell him everything and he doesn't want to help me?"

_Byakuya can be a cold person. But, there wasn't any coldness when he put that marking on me. And as much as I want to go to Kisuke, I'm just not ready to have him take over and start digging too deeply. Byakuya can be callous, but he offered to help. And he's not going to ask too many questions or force me to do things his way. He's already seen what Ginjou did to me, and he doesn't seem to hate me for it. In fact, he seems sort of sympathetic. And Byakuya doesn't usually 'do' sympathetic._

He rubbed his hands over his face.

"One thing's for sure, and that's that this isn't going to go away on its own," Ichigo whispered.

He got up from the chair and picked up Kon.

"Whatcha doin' Ichi?" yawned the mod soul, "I was just having a dream about...ACK!"

He choked as Ichigo shifted to shinigami form and the mod soul was shoved into his prone body.

"I have to go. I'll be back later."

He took a steadying breath, then touched the symbol on his hand and focused on an image of Byakuya in his mind. In front of him, a senkaimon appeared and slowly opened. He stepped inside and crossed over into the precipice world. A hell butterfly appeared and led him along, fluttering about just in front of him as he walked.

_I hope I'm making the right decision, here. It feels like the right thing, but I'm not sure. I guess I'll find out when I get there._

He let his mind go quiet, listening to the soft echo of his footsteps and trying not to think about what he was about to do. But all too soon, the senkaimon opened ahead of him and he passed over into Soul Society. He stepped down through the open doorway, momentarily blinded by its brightness, then blinked to clear his vision. To his surprise, he found himself stepping down into a darkened bedroom and looking into the wary eyes of the shinigami who had awakened as the doorway opened.

"Wh-what the hell?" Ichigo breathed, "Why did you give me a doorway into your room?" he asked, his heart pounding, "What's going on, Byakuya?"

The noble looked back at him calmly from where he sat up in bed.

"Would you rather have come down in the gardens and be seen by the staff?" he asked softly, "I assumed that if you came here, that you would want privacy. Was I wrong?"

"N-no," the youth said quickly, "I just...was surprised is all."

Byakuya started to climb out of bed.

"There is a study through that doorway, where we can talk," he said, nodding towards an inner door.

"Byakuya-sama?" said a voice from another inner doorway.

"We'll want tea, Torio," the noble informed his attendant.

"I thought you said we would have privacy," Ichigo objected.

"Torio has been my attendant since I was a teen," Byakuya assured him, "He knows to deliver the tea and not to listen in or repeat anything he might hear. He is the only one besides me who will know you are here."

"Ah. Okay," Ichigo said, following Byakuya into the next room.

They knelt at a table in the middle of the room and waited as the attendant returned and set out the tea, then left them and closed the door behind him.

"Now then," said Byakuya, looking down into his tea, "You came here for a reason. Why don't you tell me why?"

He raised his eyes to meet the youth's.

"You tell me something first," Ichigo said softly, "If you really know what happened between Ginjou and me, then why do you want to help me?"


	5. Not Alone

**Chapter 5: Not Alone**

**(This chapter was written under the influence of Red's _Not Alone._)**

_"Now then," said Byakuya, looking down into his tea, "You came here for a reason. Why don't you tell me why?"_

_He raised his eyes to meet the youth's._

_"You tell me something first," Ichigo said softly, "If you really know what happened between Ginjou and me, then why do you want to help me?"_

Byakuya was careful not to break eye contact as he considered his words carefully, then spoke.

"I am indebted to you, both for protecting Rukia and for seeing that Aizen Sousuke was _made to pay_ _for his crimes_. As a Gotei 13 taichou who was unable to stop Aizen, as a clan leader who failed to protect a member of my clan, and as a brother who failed to protect his own sister, I owe you."

"But you, of all people _know_, Byakuya!" Ichigo objected, "You _know_ that I didn't just go to bed with Ginjou. I was his lover! I worked alongside him, keeping it from everyone as I secretly tried to get my powers back. I turned to him, some stranger. Not the people who know me and care about me. They were trying to help me all along! And if I'd just been patient and waited, I didn't need to get involved with Ginjou at all!"

Byakuya bit his lip gently and glanced down into his tea for a moment.

"It is always tempting to look back at our choices through the wiser lens of hindsight and to torment ourselves for our mistakes. I admit that I have done so from time to time. But I will tell you, you should not."

He lifted his eyes again and read the self-loathing in Ichigo's.

"It is a waste of time. And truly, you had no way of knowing that we were about to complete plans for returning your powers to you."

"But I should have had more faith in all of you."

"Again, that is hindsight. We might as well blame ourselves for not being more forthcoming with you. Had you but known our plans, you might have acted differently. I assure you, you are not the only one who could, or perhaps should have chosen differently."

Ichigo swallowed hard, his eyes still registering intense pain.

"What is important," Byakuya said quietly, "is that in the end, you made a choice to defend Soul Society, despite having been given every reason to react with disgust and anger at the deceptions...as Kugo Ginjou did."

"Yeah," Ichigo whispered, his eyes softening slightly, "Well, I guess I understood why the Gotei 13 would want to watch and have some control over any powerful person, after what Ginjou and Aizen did. They were both men who had great power, and they misused it and hurt people. Even though I don't like what Ukitake taichou did in giving me the substitute shinigami badge, I get why he did it. Power can really mess with people."

"You are wise to see that," Byakuya observed.

He took a sip of tea.

"But going back to your original question. You asked me why I want to help you. And I will be honest with you. When I came to Karakura Town, I did so at Rukia's request."

He read the instant rise of anger and raised a staying hand. Ichigo bit back his objection, but his hands clenched at his sides.

"Wait...before you speak, allow me to explain."

Ichigo remained slightly stiffened, but said nothing.

"As I said, Rukia asked me to attempt to speak to you, to try to understand what was bothering you. I owe you an apology for being intrusive. But having overstepped those boundaries, and having entered your dream, I am now of a different mind."

"How so?" Ichigo asked, frowning, "How does what you saw change anything? If anything, it just shows what an idiot I was. Why would you want to help someone who got in trouble, just being stupid like that?"

"Is it stupid to follow one's heart and to seek to be loved?" Byakuya asked quietly.

"It is if you give your trust to someone who you shouldn't and they shatter it."

Byakuya looked at him meaningfully.

"You mean, the way we all trusted our colleague, Aizen Sousuke, and he shattered it? I understand. A broken trust can leave a path of great destruction in its wake."

"But this is different," Ichigo said, his head bowing and his eyes darkening, "I didn't just trust Kugo Ginjou. I was literally in bed with him. And he set me up...me and my friends and family. I never should have let him touch me. And now, I can't take it back."

Byakuya's body tensed for a moment, then calmed again.

"Lost innocence is not something one can regain," the noble agreed, "The important thing is not to confuse oneself with the act that was forced upon him."

"What?" Ichigo said, blinking, "Byakuya, I told you. I let him have sex with me. We even did it other times."

"And were you in love with him?"

"Y-yeah...no...I don't know. It's all confused in my head."

"May I share an observation?"

Ichigo hesitated, then gave a shuddering sigh.

"Fine. Go ahead."

"Very well," Byakuya said, inclining his head, "Having also been cut by Tsukishima's blade, I can tell you with honesty that while it alters the person's perceptions of the past by inserting that man's presence, it does not change the nature of the person, himself."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that when Kugo Ginjou made his advances, you could not sense his malevolence that had been altered, but you could sense the man's inner darkness, and it gave you pause."

"I still let the guy screw me. You were there. You saw it," insisted Ichigo, his eyes growing tormented again.

"What I saw was a person misusing another person's emotions to wear down his resistance. However, although you were overwhelmed emotionally and froze at some point, you never gave your consent, and in fact, you were still objecting when he moved to penetrate you. The act might not have been malevolent as such, but even cut by Tsukishima's blade, Ginjou was not pure in his intent. He still had the goal of 'getting you on his side,' did he not?"

Ichigo let out a soft breath and relaxed slightly.

"I guess you're right about that. But if what you said before was right and what was bothering me was his inner darkness, then why did I freeze up like that? Why couldn't I make myself act?"

Byakuya considered the question quietly for a moment.

"Kissing and sexual touches are a way of communicating. When receiving those things, one's heart must quickly interpret and respond to them. To be frozen by them means that the intent or the emotion evoked is unclear to the recipient. If the person administering the kiss or touch is a ruthless or manipulative person, he might purposely evoke those emotions to gain an advantage."

"You are saying that he used my confusion to take advantage of me."

"Yes. And your inexperience with that kind of emotion made you vulnerable as your heart struggled to interpret the contact."

"I was confused because I never thought of myself as 'homosexual' or 'bisexual.' So, to be touched by a guy was weird."

"But it was not something that had never crossed your mind," Byakuya reminded him.

An instant blush roared across the youth's face.

"Ah...!"

"It was perhaps," Byakuya went on quickly, "because it was him touching you that evoked your confusion."

"Maybe," Ichigo said, still looking flushed and uncomfortable, "I don't know."

"It sounds as though you require some time to think about this," suggested the noble.

"Think?" sighed Ichigo, "I'm so damned tired that I can't think straight!"

"But that man invades your mind when you try to sleep."

"Yeah."

"Ichigo, I think that the reason that happens may not be completely because of your own emotions."

Ichigo's frown deepened and he met Byakuya's eyes questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

"He is in my mind as well now."

"What?" Ichigo breathed, his eyes widening in alarm, "Byakuya!"

"I think that more went on in your personal exchanges with that man than sex. He was invading your mind, perhaps trying to reach your inner world."

"Holy shit," the stunned youth whispered, "But, how do you know that it's real and that it's not just in our heads, you know?"

"I do not know, for certain," Byakuya admitted, "And I think that, once you have rested, you must begin to consider who you would trust to explore that with you. Because if this is what I think it is, neither of us is going to be able to properly address it without some kind of intervention."

"Okay, maybe," Ichigo said wearily, "But how in the hell are we supposed to sleep? If he's just gonna be there, then we can't."

Byakuya looked into his eyes calmly.

"If you think that you can trust me, I can assist you in obtaining dreamless rest. But to invoke the kido, I will need to be in close physical contact with you while you are sleeping."

"You mean I have to sleep with you?" Ichigo blurted out.

Then, he blushed.

"I mean, I have to...?"

"The kido requires me to wrap my spiritual presence around yours and allow my reiatsu to wick away the dream impulses."

"You can do that?" Ichigo asked, looking surprised, "But doesn't that mean that he'll affect your mind instead?"

"I will remain awake."

"But then, you won't be able to sleep."

"Don't concern yourself with that. I will handle it."

"Huh," mused Ichigo, "How exactly?"

Byakuya cleared his throat softly.

"That isn't important. Now, do you think that you can trust me enough to use this method?"

"What, to sleep next to you?" Ichigo queried, "Well, I guess so."

"We will need to remove our clothing," Byakuya said quietly, "There must be no barriers."

"What!" the youth squawked, "You didn't say anything about getting naked before! Are you crazy?"

"Do you want to sleep without that man invading your mind?"

"Yeah," huffed Ichigo, "but I'm also kinda concerned about what you're going to be doing with my body while I am sleeping!"

"I promise that I will only touch you as is necessary for the kido process. Your other option is to return to Karakura Town and to perhaps have Urahara Kisuke look into this. But, then you are not likely to get sleep anytime soon."

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, shaking his head, "I trust Kisuke, but he gets so focused on fixing things that he sometimes gets a little crazy, you know what I mean?"

"Yes."

A long silence opened up between the two, then Byakuya took a soft breath and broke it.

"I will let you think about this. I am going back into my room. If you decide to entrust this to me, you may follow. And if you decide that it is too uncomfortable for you, then you may use the symbol I placed on your hand to leave. Good night, Ichigo."

Byakuya rose and walked out of the room, leaving Ichigo staring down at the table.

_What should I do?_

_I want answers, but I already haven't slept for days. I need sleep, but I have to be naked and have him hold me while I sleep?_

_He heard me say that I find him attractive._

_But he promised not to do anything._

_And Byakuya isn't the kind to lie about something like that. I can trust him. I could trust Kisuke to help with the problem, but I'm so damned exhausted, I just can't deal with it all right now._

He looked up at the doorway into Byakuya's room, his heart pounding, then he looked down at the back of his hand.

_"I am going back into my room. If you decide to entrust this to me, you may follow. And if you decide that it is too uncomfortable for you, then you may use the symbol I placed on your hand to leave."_

He started to stand, but felt nausea and dizziness sweep over him. His legs wobbled oddly and he reached down to place a hand on his stomach.

_Oh god, I feel awful! It's gotta be stress...exhaustion._

He took a step towards Byakuya's room, but collapsed just short of the doorway. In the next room, Byakuya heard the sound of a body hitting the floor and flash stepped back into the room. He dropped to his knees next to the fallen youth.

"Torio, summon our healer, immediately!" he called out, "Ichigo?"

He rubbed the young man's wrists and touched his face lightly.

"Ichigo?"

Relief flooded his body as the clan healer appeared and knelt beside him, extending his hands over the fallen youth.

"Michio, can you tell what's wrong? I know he was exhausted, but I didn't realize it was so extreme."

The healer gazed intently down at Ichigo, moving his hands over the young man's body and frowning.

"What happened?" he asked softly, "Just before?"

"I do not know. I walked out of the room and he got up, then just collapsed."

"Was he complaining of any pain or making any sounds of discomfort?"

"I don't know," said the clan leader, "I don't remember him saying anything. He was uncomfortable from lack of sleep, but..."

The healer's eyes intensified suddenly, then a deep, crimson light exploded around his hands.

"What is happening?" Byakuya asked, his eyes widening, "Michio!"

The old healer's face took on a pained look and his hands shook as his healing power braced itself against the red reiatsu that continued to flow out of the young man's body. After several minutes of struggle, the healer's green reiatsu seemed to gain control and wrapped itself around the red reiatsu. It pressed in slowly, eating away at the errant reiatsu until it finally disappeared and the room went dark again.

Byakuya looked from Ichigo to the pale-faced healer.

"What was that?" he asked softly, even his whisper seeming oddly loud in the suddenly silent room.

Michio swallowed hard, his eyes taking on a sad expression.

"The boy was pregnant."

"What?" Byakuya gasped.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is part human and part shinigami, no?" the healer asked.

"He is."

"The one who impregnated him was at least part shinigami as well...or had a shinigami form."

"But you said that Ichigo _was_ pregnant."

The healer took a long breath and sighed.

"Because he is part human, and human males cannot bear children, he likely showed no symptoms when he was in human form. But, the very fact of him being in that human body disrupted the developing pregnancy. And when he shed his human body and came here, suddenly the child's developing reiatsu was released. Had he conceived the child in shinigami form, here in Soul Society and not let the reiatsu of the child into contact with his human body, he could have carried the child to term. But the combination of the contact with his human form and the shock of transformation was too much for the reiatsu and it became unstable. I could do nothing at that point. I am sorry, Byakuya-sama."

"I am sure that you did all you could," Byakuya assured him, "But, will Ichigo be all right now?"

"He will need rest, but yes, he will recover fully."

The healer paused and studied the youth's pained face.

"Would you like me to make sure that he does not wake?"

Byakuya bit his lip gently.

"He...may have another complication, an invasive reiatsu or consciousness in his mind or inner world."

"Oh?"

"That is what we were discussing before his collapse. If you simply make him sleep, then he may have nightmares and no means to escape them."

"Then, I should wake him?" asked the healer, "I don't know that the boy is in any shape to be dealing with all of this at the moment."

"But he is not in any immediate medical danger from this?"

"No, not now that the reiatsu of the child has dissipated."

Byakuya closed his eyes.

"Then, leave us."

"Byakuya-sama?"

"I will care for him."

The old healer gave him a guarded look, then sighed and climbed to his feet.

"Let me know if you need my assistance."

Byakuya watched as the healer and Torio left, then he looked down at Ichigo and reached out to gather him into his arms. But as his hands made contact with the younger man, an icy blast of memory exploded across his mind, freezing him in place, wide eyed and staring.

_"This is your child, isn't it?" Byakuya cried, his hands clenching where he held them at his sides, "I know that something has not been right during our lessons. That's why I stopped attending them. Aizen taichou, you are responsible for this, aren't you!"_

_"Byakuya-kun, what are you talking about?" Aizen said, his hand moving towards the sword that rested in the stand beside his desk._

_A bright flash of kido erupted from Byakuya's hands, shattering the sword stand and sending Kyouka Suigetsu spinning away across the floor._

_"You know what I am talking about! Don't lie to me! There are no other times when time has been unaccounted for and I cannot remember. You...!"_

_"Does anyone else know about this?" Aizen asked, remaining strangely calm despite the noble youth's outburst, "Have you been to see Unohana taichou?"_

_"No," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "No one knows but me. I can feel it. And I know the elders will sense it soon. And they will know too! You won't be able to hide it. And you are going to pay for what you've done!"_

_"What I've done?" Aizen said, standing and starting towards the sword._

_Byakuya fired another blast of kido at the sword on the floor, but froze and stared in shock as the power flickered and died. Aizen reached the sword and bent to retrieve it as Byakuya felt a bolt of terror rise up inside him, and he turned for the door, flash stepping as fast as he could._

_"Unacceptable," Aizen said solemnly, "This will not do at all."_

_"No!" Byakuya gasped, reaching for the door handle._

_"Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu."_

"Byakuya?"

He realized suddenly that he was sitting with his back against the wall and his face buried in his hands. He swallowed hard and pulled them away, all too aware of the sheen of sweat that had broken out on his skin. He saw Ichigo start to sit up and crawled forward to the young man's side.

"Don't try to get up," he said quickly, his voice oddly strained, "You lost consciousness."

"Why?"

"You are exhausted. You need to sleep," Byakuya said, standing and offering Ichigo a hand, "Get up slowly."

He felt light pressure on his hand as Ichigo climbed to his feet, then swayed dizzily. Byakuya's arm wrapped around him, steadying him as they passed through the doorway into Byakuya's bedroom. Byakuya led him to the bed and stopped, facing him.

"Would you like me to take away the dreams while you sleep?" he asked, his heart still pounding from the earlier adrenaline rush, "If so, you will need to remove your clothes."

Ichigo took a shuddering breath.

"Okay."

Byakuya turned away and started towards the other side of the bed, loosing the tie on his yukata, then letting it fall away before sliding into bed next to the shinigami substitute.

"The closer our physical contact, the more effective the technique will be," he explained, going quiet again as Ichigo considered his words, then turned cautiously into his arms. Byakuya tried in vain to calm his heart as another jolt passed through it. Ichigo's head settled on the noble's shoulder, not far from the skittish organ.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked, "You're heart's really racing."

"I am fine."

"You're nervous too."

"I am not."

"Liar," Ichigo yawned, his exhaustion finally getting the better of him.

He closed his eyes and let the softness of Byakuya's warm skin and the light scent of sakura calm him into dropping off. Byakuya whispered an incantation, then slowly allowed his reiatsu to emerge and wrapped it around the already dozing youth.

"Relax. Trust me."

"You didn't have to say that," Ichigo whispered, his words fading away.

"Shh."

Byakuya watched silently as Ichigo drifted into sleep, then focused his eyes on the younger man's profile and carefully maintained the dream barrier. As soon as the flickers of a dream rose up in the youth, he pulled them away, capturing them in the barrier and slowly draining them of their power until they disappeared. Ichigo slept deeply, blissfully unaware of what he was doing as Byakuya drew away dream after dream.

His own body grew weary and his eyes burned, but that earlier memory remained at the edges of the noble's disciplined mind, reminding him not to let his eyes close even for a moment.

And Ichigo's more peaceful face was more than enough to occupy his mind as the hours passed and the shinigami substitute rested.

_Sleep._

_I am with you._

_You are not alone._


	6. When it all Burns Down

**Chapter 6: When it all Burns Down**

**(Written while listening to Red's _Let it Burn_.)**

Ichigo felt himself rising up out of sleep, but lingering just beneath wakefulness, still wrapped in the surprisingly warm and comforting presence of the man who had once been his enemy. But whatever animosity might have lingered between the two was certainly gone now. There was nothing in the body that rested partially beneath his that wasn't warm and bracing, nothing in the fingers that were laced together with his or the ones that lightly touched his hair and face as he slept that was in any way aggressive. And although they had always seemed cool and distant, there was understanding, even sympathy in the wide, dark eyes that he felt watching him.

_It's strange._

_I thought I knew Byakuya pretty well._

_But I wonder now if anyone really does._

The thought was inordinately sad.

_He's not just helping me as a favor to Rukia. He said that much. He talked about how he saw what Ginjou had done to me and it made him want to help me. But he didn't really explain why. Then again, that's Byakuya. He won't come out and say anything. And he doesn't let anyone in._

He knew he should open his eyes and acknowledge that he was indeed awake and rested. And it was selfish, knowing how worn the noble had to be after losing so much sleep helping Ichigo to rest. But it felt so good to be held against that calm, relaxed, sweet smelling body that he couldn't seem to make himself move.

But there was something in Byakuya's behavior that suggested that he was in no hurry to let go either. So Ichigo kept his eyes closed for a time, just listening quietly to the steady beat of the other man's heart and feeling the soft rise and fall of his breathing.

_What are you thinking, Byakuya?_

_What have you been thinking about all of this time while you've been holding me?_

_You don't hate me for being broken. I can feel that. What I don't understand is why. It's almost like you understand too well._

_Do you?_

Ichigo's eyes opened suddenly and looked into the exhausted noble's. And for just a moment, he saw something indescribable, an expression that betrayed secrets the man would die before he'd tell anyone. It lasted for just that moment, and then he felt the firm defenses snap back into place. Byakuya started to pull away, but Ichigo's hands tightened on him and he paused, looking at the younger man questioningly as Ichigo's mind replayed his words from before.

_"It is always tempting to look back at our choices through the wiser lens of hindsight and to torment ourselves for our mistakes. I admit that I have done so from time to time."_

_xxx_

_"Is it stupid to follow one's heart and to seek to be loved?"_

_xxx_

_"I understand. A broken trust can leave a path of great destruction in its wake."_

_xxx_

_"Lost innocence is not something one can regain. The important thing is not to confuse oneself with the act that was forced upon him."_

"Is something wrong?" Byakuya asked quietly, the dark eyes betraying a hint of anxiety.

"I just realized that you never really answered my question," Ichigo said, keeping their eyes locked and watching the noble's responses carefully.

"What question was that?"

"Why are you helping me?"

"I told you. I..."

"I heard that," Ichigo said, interrupting him, "You said that you saw what Ginjou did and it made you decide to help, but you didn't explain why."

Byakuya's eyes narrowed and Ichigo could almost feel his defenses tighten.

"It's okay," the youth said, the hint of a smile touching his lips, "I think I already know."

"You do?" Byakuya asked, doubt creeping into his expression.

"Yeah," Ichigo confirmed, "I think that you decided to help because you saw what Ginjou did to me and it reminded you of something that happened to you."

He felt the noble's body stiffen.

_I was right. Something definitely happened._

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," he assured the other man, "I just wanted to know what made you do this. I don't need the specifics if you don't want to share them. But I'll listen if you decide sometime that you do. You said before that you owed me. Well, that debt is paid, and then some. Now, I owe you."

"No, you don't."

"I think that I do. And I'm not so proud that I won't show you my gratitude, Byakuya."

"What do you mean?" said the noble, his eyes widening and his heartbeat speeding up where it beat against Ichigo's bare breast.

_You know what I mean._

Byakuya froze, his eyes rounding prettily as the younger man's mouth captured his and Ichigo's body came to rest more firmly on top of his.

_There it is,_ thought Ichigo, _that moment that he told me about...when a person's heart has to quickly interpret a kiss. He froze like a deer. And then...then...?_

For one breathless moment, they remained frozen like that, their lips touching and their eyes locked. Then Byakuya's lips parted and moved against his and the noble's eyelids fluttered and started to close.

"Don't close your eyes."

Ichigo was taken completely off guard by the sudden jolt the words caused in Byakuya's slender body and the momentary flash of something that looked like terror in his eyes.

_What the hell just happened?_ the youth wondered as Byakuya tore himself away and slid out of the bed.

"Wait."

Byakuya bent and retrieved his yukata, then wrapped it around himself and tied it at his waist.

"You seem well enough rested now," the noble said calmly, acting as though nothing at all had happened, "You should return to Urahara Kisuke and begin seeking your answers there."

"What? You're kicking me out?" Ichigo asked, frowning, "Are you angry that I kissed you?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong? Why are you doing this?"

"I am tired. I haven't slept," Byakuya said, blinking sleepily.

"Then, let me stay and help you sleep the way you helped me."

"What?" Byakuya queried, looking surprised.

"That kido," Ichigo said, sliding out of bed and standing naked across from the noble, "Show me how to do that for you."

Byakuya let out a short, sarcastic puff of breath.

"You have not been trained properly in the use of kido," he said stiffly, "And you can barely control your reiatsu. You would likely only level my home if you tried. Don't bother. I will take care of myself."

Ichigo frowned stubbornly.

"You've gotten used to that, haven't you?" he asked softly, "Taking care of yourself?"

He moved closer to the noble, leaving his clothes in an untidy pile on the floor behind him. Byakuya kept his eyes open, but slightly averted as the naked youth approached him.

"You don't like to depend on anyone, right? You don't have to answer. I already know that, Byakuya. But you let me lean on you and I only want to return the favor. Besides, you need to sleep. You're as worn out as I was. And if I don't do this, then who is going to be curling up next to you naked and holding you while you sleep?"

"Why does that concern you?" Byakuya asked, his lips tightening, "I do not belong to you."

"No," agreed Ichigo, "You don't belong _to_ me. You belong _with _me. So, let me help you."

"I told you. The kido is beyond your current ability. It can be dangerous."

"So, what are you going to do? Just wait until you collapse? Then what? He's going to be there in your head, right? What are you going to do?"

"Resist," Byakuya said evenly.

"Huh," Ichigo mused, looking unconvinced, "You think it's that easy?"

"I did not say that it would be easy."

"But you're just going to face it all down by yourself. Is that it, Byakuya? You think you can do that?"

"That man doesn't have the power over me that he has over you. I was not his victim."

"No," agreed Ichigo, stopping in front of him, "But you shouldn't forget. Ginjou's inside your head now. So he is going to know whose victim you were."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, you do. But you'll be damned if you'll admit it, right? Fine then, don't share it with me. But don't lie to yourself about it. Whatever you've got hidden, he's going to find it and use it. You should come to Karakura Town with me. That way, Kisuke can help both of us."

"I don't want that man's help!"

Ichigo stared in surprise at the fact of their being more hurt than anger in the noble's words. Byakuya too, seemed to realize that he had said too much and turned away.

"Go back to Karakura Town," the noble said more calmly, "Let him take care of you."

"Fine. I'll go. But I want something first."

Byakuya met his eyes guardedly.

"What do you want?"

"Tell me what's between you and Kisuke. I know you don't like him so much because when he was banished, Yoruichi left with him. And she was your mentor, and even though you don't ever admit it, she was your friend. But is that really enough to explain the way you just acted? I don't think so. So, tell me, why did you react that way?"

"Why do you want to know that?"

"It's not so much that I need to know it," Ichigo explained, "It's more like you need to just say it."

"And that will make it better?" Byakuya asked icily, "I don't think so."

Byakuya sucked in a surprised breath as Ichigo's hand came to rest on one slender shoulder.

"A broken trust," the youth said softly, "can leave a path of great destruction in its wake. Isn't that what you said?"

"Yes," the noble whispered, his eyes suddenly haunted.

There was, he decided, no point in denying it.

"Byakuya, come to Karakura Town with me. Give Kisuke the chance to do something to make up for whatever happened before. He can't undo the past, but he can help us both right now. Let him do that."

Byakuya yielded a tight, sarcastic smile.

"I should be giving you that lecture," he said quietly.

Ichigo looked back at him silently, waiting.

"Very well," Byakuya sighed finally, "I have to go and make a report to the Captain Commander. But when that is done, I will join you in Karakura Town. Will that satisfy you, Ichigo?"

The youth smiled.

"Yeah, almost."

"Almost?"

He blinked in surprise as the naked youth slid his arms around him and kissed him warmly on the mouth.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Byakuya asked.

"Why do you keep letting me?" Ichigo chuckled.

He laughed again at the look of disapproval his words earned.

"Hey, you already knew I found you attractive. And I don't hear you complaining, so I think that means you find me attractive too, right?"

"Don't get cocky," Byakuya warned him, pulling away, "Get out of here. I need to get dressed."

"Oh, am I stopping you?" Ichigo asked, smirking and sitting down on the bed.

"Ichigo..."

"All right," the youth chuckled, getting up and starting to dress, "I'm going. Just don't take too long, okay? I want to get this guy out of our heads as soon as possible."

"And then what?" Byakuya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know," the youth said, shrugging, "We'll figure that out later."

"Ichigo."

"Bye," Ichigo said, kissing him on the cheek and laughing at the way it made him blush.

He finished dressing, then touched the marking on his hand to open the senkaimon.

"Thanks, Byakuya," he said, stepping into the precipice world.

Byakuya watched the doorway close between them.

"Thank you, Ichigo."

He crossed the suddenly quiet room, intending to dress, but stopped in the dressing area, looking into the mirror and studying the light flush that still decorated his pale skin around his cheeks and throat.

_It's like a fever. My eyes are burning and my throat feels dry. I've never had those feelings before. I've always avoided them._

_But it seems there is no doing that now._

He left the dressing area, tightening the tie on his yukata and passing through the garden doors. He crossed the gardens, barely noticing the odd look that Torio gave him as he passed by.

"Byakuya-sama?"

He left the gardens and followed the forest trail up to a lovely, rushing waterfall that tumbled over a low cliff and rained down into a large lake at the edge of a wide, grassy meadow. The sweet scents of fresh water and sun-warmed grass filled his senses, mixing gently with the sakura scent from the trees around him. He looked quietly out over the lake and meadow, remembering.

_"I'm not so proud that I won't show you my gratitude, Byakuya."_

_"What do you mean?" said the noble, his eyes widening and his heartbeat speeding up where it beat against Ichigo's bare breast._

_Byakuya froze, his eyes rounding prettily as the younger man's mouth captured his and Ichigo's body came to rest more firmly on top of his._

His fingers touched his lips lightly.

_I've never been kissed like that before. Hisana's kisses were more in the way of a friend and...those others were hard and vicious. Ichigo's kisses were passionate, but not at all violent._

_Fascinating._

He sat down beneath a sakura tree near the ledge and continued to look out over the meadow, watching quietly as several deer walked out from the trees to graze on the sweet grasses. He knew he shouldn't allow himself to doze off, but his exhaustion, the warmth of his memories about Ichigo and the pleasantness of his surroundings got the better of him and his eyes fluttered sleepily, then closed. He collapsed softly onto the grass beneath the tree and was asleep almost instantly.

Moments later, Ginjou's voice rose up in his mind.

_"I warned you not to help him, but you just refused to accept that. And now, you are going to pay."_

_"I am not afraid of you!" Byakuya hissed defiantly._

_He froze at the lighter, more youthful sound of his own voice._

_"You're not afraid of me," Ginjou said mockingly, "But I know who you are afraid of!"_

_Byakuya gasped as a strong hand wrapped around his wrist and he found himself looking up at Aizen Sousuke's deceptively gentle face._

_"It's been a long time," he said smoothly, "It has been too long, Byakuya-kun."_

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo stepped out of the senkaimon and turned first in the direction of his home. He walked slowly, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the cool breath of wind that fluttered against his skin.

_It's soft, like Byakuya's lips._

_It's strange. When Ginjou kissed me, when we had sex, it felt dirty, wrong. But when Byakuya kisses me, it feels like it was meant to happen. When Ginjou held me in his arms, it felt like a prison, but Byakuya's arms are strong and protective without feeling like they're holding me against my will. His eyes are deep and I thought they would be cold inside, like they are sometimes on the surface when he's pissed. But even though he looked back at me sometimes and I saw fear, pain, loneliness, I also saw concern, understanding, even affection._

_I think I'm falling in love with Kuchiki Byakuya, and I think he's falling in love with me too. And even if he hasn't told me his secrets yet, I think he is going to. But just like I needed it to be the right time for me to do that, now he needs time._

He came to the door of his house and walked inside. He heard soft giggles in the kitchen and found his sisters cooking.

"Nii-san!" exclaimed Yuzu, smiling up at him, "You came back!"

"You look better," Karin said in a more serious tone, "What happened?"

_I look better?_

_They noticed before?_

He caught his breath softly.

_Of course they noticed. And they felt bad that they couldn't help. Only Byakuya could do that. But, there's more to do._

"What do you mean, what happened?" Ichigo said, smirking at the way Karin scowled in response, "I got some rest and talked it out with a friend. That's what you do when you have a problem, right?"

He chuckled as Karin's face registered surprise.

_There, I acknowledged it. I was hurting, but it's okay now. Don't worry._

"What's cooking? I'm starving," he went on.

"Rice balls and chicken!" Yuzu said happily, "And we made taiyaki for dessert!"

"Taiyaki," said Ichigo, ruffling his younger sister's hair affectionately, "Don't let Renji hear you say that. He'll come over here and eat it all and we won't have any left for us."

"We made some extra for him," said Karin, "You can take it over to Urahara-san's later, if you want."

"Okay, but I'm eating something first and having a shower."

"Good," said Karin saucily, "because you smell like flowers. You fall asleep in the park or something?"

_No, I slept somewhere much warmer and softer._

"Shut up," Ichigo muttered, settling at the table as Yuzu served the meal, "Hey, where's Dad?"

"Had to work late again," Karin said between mouthfuls of food, "I think you made him worried, stupid!"

"Nah," Ichigo answered, smirking, "He's always stupid. He doesn't have to be worried stupid."

"Shut up..."

Ichigo lingered at the table, even after they were done and even played a few board games with the girls before kissing Yuzu on the cheek and patting Karin on the shoulder, then avoiding her swatting hand as he passed her to go up the stairs.

"Thanks for the food."

He showered slowly, almost hating to lose the bit of Byakuya's gentle scent that had clung to him, but sighing contentedly as the hot water ran down his naked flesh.

_This isn't over yet, but I feel more like I can handle it. And I don't have to do it alone. Byakuya made me understand that. He, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Dad, Karin, Yuzu and all of my friends are there for me. And it's not wrong to let them help. It's not wrong to admit that I need that sometimes, just like everyone else._

_So if Byakuya can show me that, then why doesn't he seem to understand that it's the same for him? Why does he try to handle things so much on his own? How can I make it feel safe for him to turn to me?_

_Or have I already?_

_He is meeting me at Kisuke's. Maybe he gets it now, too. And if not, I'll return the gift he gave me. He deserves that._

He finished his shower and dressed, then said goodbye to his sisters and set out for Kisuke's house.

_I slept away most of the day, there in Byakuya's arms. I hope he comes here soon so that he can get some sleep safely too. I'll have to have Kisuke teach me that kido technique...but I'm not getting naked with the guy!_

He laughed softly at the thought as he approached the shop. He frowned in surprise as the door opened even before he reached it and Yoruichi and Kisuke stepped out to meet him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, "Look, I know I was really pissed before, Kisuke, and I'm sorry I lost it like that. I'll work with you now, if that's what you are all up in arms about."

"That's not it, Ichigo," Kisuke said, a worried look in his eyes.

"What is it? What's happened?" Ichigo asked, an ache forming in the pit of his stomach and Byakuya's weary face appearing in his mind.

"I received a hell butterfly from Rukia," said Yoruichi, "Byakuya collapsed and has been taken to the fourth division."

"What?"

"I don't know what happened yet," Yoruichi went on, "but they can't wake him. Kisuke said that you and Byakuya had something odd going on between you. We need you to come with us now. We need to know if this happened because of that!"

He nodded wordlessly, falling in with them as they turned back into the shop and headed for the underground training area. His heart pounded furiously in his chest as the senkaimon opened and they stepped into it together.

_Byakuya, we're coming to you._

_You aren't alone._


	7. The Pieces of Us

**Chapter 7: The Pieces of Us**

"Come this way," said Unohana taichou, leading Urahara, Yoruichi and Ichigo down a hallway and to a door guarded by Kuchiki house security forces.

Inside, Byakuya's younger, blue-eyed cousin, Tetsuya sat with his fingers laced together with Abarai Renji's, alongside Rukia at the noble's bedside. Ichigo caught his breath in surprise and distress at the pale cast to Byakuya's fine skin and the presence of the machines regulating his breathing and monitoring his vital signs.

"Kami, he's that bad?" the young man exclaimed, "I thought that he was just unconscious. He can't even breathe on his own?"

"We had to place him in a medically induced coma," Unohana explained.

"Just from him being unconscious?" objected Ichigo, "Why would you have to do that?"

"It wasn't just that he was unconscious," Unohana said, her eyes troubled, "There was a large amount of brain activity taking place and it put great strain on his systems. His spiritual pressure rose to dangerous levels and we were forced to do this to regain control of it. We could not divine what was causing there to be so much disturbance. There seemed to be no physically based explanation, nor one related to his powers. That leaves an emotional factor, but no one close to him is aware of anything that would have caused Kuchiki taichou the level of distress we witnessed. The only clue that we have is what I learned upon speaking to Urahara Kisuke."

"When Unohana taichou contacted me to consult about what was happening, I told her about how Byakuya entered your dream and was injured by Kugo Ginjou. I also told her that when the two of you fell asleep after that, your souls began to resonate at an abnormally high level. I didn't get a chance to tell you two before you left that your body processes, all of your vital signs and brain waves fell into perfect synchronization and you began to dream together."

"We were...dreaming together?" Ichigo repeated, the memory beginning to return.

"Well, it seemed that was the case," said Kisuke, "but because the two of you left, I couldn't verify whether it was that or if Byakuya might actually have briefly entered your inner world."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Another person can do that?" he asked, looking down at the noble.

"It is possible," said Unohana taichou, "But there would have to be a very strong connection between the two souls."

"What she's saying," Kisuke explained, "is that the two people would have to be closely bonded. They would have to be soul mates."

Ichigo felt a shiver inside as Kisuke's eyes sought his again.

"Ichigo, I need you to think very carefully. You see, I asked Byakuya if he had used a Dreamcatcher's kido to enter your dream and he wouldn't answer me. Did he tell you if that was the method he used?"

"No, actually," Ichigo admitted, "He didn't say what method he used, although he did admit to entering my dream to try to help me. And he used another kido when I was with him before so that I could sleep without dreaming."

Yoruichi suddenly loosed a gentle giggle and Kisuke tried to bite back a devilish smirk.

"What? What could you two possibly be laughing about?" the young man demanded, "What's so damned funny when Byakuya is lying there on life support, you assholes!"

"Take it easy," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "Byakuya's not going to die. No one ever said he was. Weren't you listening? The coma was medically induced. And the reason that we had to use that method is because we didn't have Byakuya-san's lover to lie down and use one of those lover's kidos to reach him."

"What?" exclaimed Ichigo, "Lover's kidos? What the hell are you talking about? I mean, I know that..."

"Relax, okay?" Kisuke chuckled, "We weren't meaning to be disrespectful. We just were surprised to find out that you and Byakuya-san are lovers."

"We're not lovers!" Ichigo yelled, "Well, I mean, we just shared our first kisses."

He went quiet, blushing furiously at the amused looks on Rukia, Renji and Tetsuya's faces at the news. Then, he noticed that none of the three looked completely surprised the way that Urahara and Yoruichi did.

"Hey! You guys...knew he liked me?"

"Erm, well," Tetsuya said haltingly, "He did not come out and say so much, however, he had me watch over you without your knowledge, more than a few times while you were ill or somehow vulnerable."

"He sent me a few times also," added Renji.

"And," Rukia added, "Even though he went to Karakura Town because I asked him to, he agreed to it awfully easily. I didn't even have to really argue with him."

"So, Byakuya wanted to help me because...he likes me?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," said Kisuke, "But I think that a man who would make himself as vulnerable as Byakuya-san did, using that lover's kido, must more than 'like' you."

"He made himself vulnerable?" Ichigo repeated, "I don't get it. How did he make himself vulnerable?"

"You said that he admitted to entering your dream without your consent, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, there aren't many ways to do that. But one way is called the Dreamcatcher's kido. It is a kido that allows lovers to enter each others' dreams to either watch and understand them or to act in the dream to somehow assist the dreamer."

"So," said Unohana, "if one lover dreams of a certain monster, the one entering the dream can help to slay it. If there is a painful problem or issue on the dreamer's mind, the voice of his or her lover can reach in to offer comfort and support. The level of presence that the lover has in the dream depends on the strength of the bond between the two."

"Which suggests," Kisuke added, "that the bond between you and Byakuya-san is a strong one. It still doesn't explain why Ginjou in your dream was able to injure him, but it's a step in the right direction."

"And now that we know that you and Kuchiki taichou are soul mates," Unohana went on, "We can raise the level of his consciousness and allow you to enter his inner world."

"But if you raise the level of his consciousness, won't he start to react like he did before?" objected Ichigo, "It sounded dangerous!"

"It is dangerous," admitted the healer, "However, opening his mind and allowing you inside is the only way for us to know what is causing the disturbance. But you must be cautious. If Kuchiki taichou was injured while addressing your dream, it could follow that you might be in danger from whatever is tormenting him. Until we know why he was injured, there will be uncertainty and danger in all of our movements."

"So, should we just wait for Urahara-san to discover the reason for my cousin's injury?" asked Tetsuya, "It seems dangerous to have Ichigo-san enter Byakuya-sama's inner world until we know what danger might await him."

"It would be a safer path, perhaps," said Unohana, "but it does not take into account the fact that being in a comatose state will weaken Kuchiki taichou as well. It will be more gradual, but waiting could pose equal danger as proceeding, so it seems we must proceed before he becomes too weakened to tolerate the entry of Ichigo-san into his mind."

"But, uh, Byakuya told me that the kido he was using to help me was dangerous, that I wasn't trained to use it and could flatten his manor if I did it wrong."

"He-heh," chuckled Urahara, "I think that was Byakuya-san's way of saying that what he was really afraid of was you figuring out exactly what he thinks of you. When you enter a person's mind, their dreams, their inner world, it is a window into the person's heart. And Byakuya-san isn't one to make himself vulnerable that way."

"What? But he entered _my _ mind!" Ichigo said, sounding offended, "Why didn't he want me to see?"

"Ichigo," Yoruichi said, smiling, "You know that Byakuya-bo is a quiet type. And he had just invaded your mind. He simply wasn't ready to fully confess to what he'd done. But he wagered that he needed to act to help you anyway."

"Wait, so you're saying that Byakuya didn't just like me, but that he may have been in love with me already and was afraid for me to know it yet?"

"Well, look who just caught up," chuckled Rukia, "Idiot!"

"Really!" laughed Renji, "And I thought _I_ was slow!"

"But...!"

"Byakuya-bo is a complicated person," Yoruichi said affectionately, "but you know that already, right Ichigo?"

"Y-yeah," Ichigo said, the beginnings of a smile touching his lips, "But it's still surprising. I mean, I had no idea! I knew we'd become friends, but even so, he always kept a little distance there."

"That is just the way Byakuya-sama is," Tetsuya explained.

"And being more like a brother to Nii-sama than a cousin, Tetsuya-san would know," said Rukia, "I have to admit that when I asked Nii-sama to help you, I didn't realize how much he actually felt for you."

"I don't think that anyone did," suggested Yoruichi, "He is quite careful with what he shows people."

"There's a story behind that, I'm sure," said Kisuke, "but I don't think that anyone's in a better position than our pal Ichigo to find out what's going on in that pretty little head of his. Byakuya's defenses are about as dangerous as his bankai, if you know what I mean."

"Well, enough talking," said Ichigo, looking down at Byakuya's nearly motionless form, "I need to help pull him out of this. So, Unohana-san, if you could show me how, I will go in after him."

The healer smiled.

"I think that Kurosaki-san would be more comfortable if we emptied the room except for ourselves, and if I merely explained and then gave you two your privacy."

"But what is something goes wrong!" exclaimed Ichigo, "Shouldn't someone be watching?"

"I will watch," said Unohana, "but I will watch from another room and only monitor your vital signs and reiatsu. I will not attempt to follow Kurosaki-san into Kuchiki taichou's mind, as it involves things of a private nature and the aim is to rescue him, not to embarrass him."

"Although that would be fun too," laughed Urahara.

"Shut up," said Ichigo, "That's my..."

He paused, blushing.

"That's _Byakuya_, you're talking about, so show some respect."

"Take it easy," said Kisuke, "I was just kidding. Don't take it so personally."

"Get outta here," Ichigo said reprovingly, "The sooner I get in there, the sooner he'll wake up."

"Thank you, Ichigo," Rukia said with sincerity, "Thank you for helping Nii-sama."

"You have my thanks as well," agreed Tetsuya, standing an smiling up at Renji as the redhead curled an arm around him and started across the room with the other two.

"Hey," Renji said, looking back over his shoulder, "Take care of my taichou, okay? I still haven't had the honor of beating him in a fight yet."

"Get out of here!" Ichigo said, fighting a smile, "And don't worry, I'll bring him back alive."

"Alive and _in working order_ would be best," suggested Urahara, following the others out of the room.

Ichigo watched the others leave, then took a steadying breath and looked expectantly at Unohana. The healer smiled and handed him a white yukata.

"Go and put this on," she instructed him, "I will prepare things for you, then instruct you on how to proceed."

"Okay, but you _do_ know that kido's not my strong point, right? I'm not getting nervous for myself. I just don't want to do more damage than good."

"Do not worry, Kurosaki-san," Unohana said, smiling at him, "I am sure that you will have no problem managing this type of kido. Go on, then."

Ichigo stepped into the private bathroom and disrobed, then returned to find the healer preparing small electronic monitors, some of which she placed on Byakuya and some of which she attached to the shinigami substitute's forehead and chest.

"Now then," she said, checking to make sure that the devices were functioning, then stepping back, "I am going to leave, and when I am gone, I want you to open your yukata and his and to bring your bodies into close physical contact."

"Like we did when Byakuya was helping me to sleep without dreaming?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," the healer answered, "I will send some impulses into the control devices that will place you in a state of reduced consciousness. I do not want you to fall asleep, but to remain slightly aware. It is in this in between state that you will focus on Kuchiki taichou's reiryoku (spirit ribbon) and follow it into his inner world. Realize as you do that you are requesting entry, and that what will get you in through his defenses is to harmonize with his spiritual energy. You are more able to do that than anyone else because of what is between you. If you are repelled, do not panic. Simply withdraw, and we will try again. Do not become forceful, as it will likely lead to his systems forcibly trying to repel you. We want you to be accepted."

"Okay," Ichigo said, nodding, and trying to ignore the way his heart was pounding, "Follow his reiryoku, harmonize and don't be forceful."

"That's right," said Unohana, "And do not worry if we have to try this more than once. Kuchiki taichou is not used to opening himself to others, and it may be difficult for him to accept help. But he cares for you. You have the best chance of reaching him. Just do your best."

"I will," Ichigo said, swallowing hard as the healer left and he climbed onto the bed and opened his yukata, then leaned forward and opened Byakuya's.

A blush roared across his face as Byakuya's scent reached his nostrils and he took in the sight of the lovely slender body that had been held so close to his as he had slept.

"It's time for a little payback," he said softly, "I let you help me, and now you need to let me in. I just want to wake you up so that we can get Ginjou out of our heads. Then, whatever you want to do is fine. I think that we'd be great together. I can't believe I'm saying that, but it's really the truth. I'm sure it would be pretty complicated with you being a clan leader and all, but we'll just figure things out as we go, all right? Now, I'm coming in. Just relax, okay? We'll do this slowly."

He bit his lips and flushed more brightly at the realization of the possible double meaning of his words. He laid down beside the noble, carefully working around the electrodes and settling along his side, his head rested on Byakuya's shoulder.

"Well, this is familiar. I think we've done this part before. Now, don't give me any trouble, all right?"

He looked up at the monitor and nodded.

"Whenever you're ready Unohana-san," he said quietly.

He felt an odd dizziness pass over him and his muscles instantly relaxed. He lost awareness of his body and found his consciousness loosed and floating. Remembering Unohana's advice, he focused on Byakuya's reiryoku and latched onto it, following along a satin edge, sliding down slowly and gradually harmonizing his energies with those of the noble. He sensed the stirring of Byakuya's mind as Unohana raised his consciousness, allowing him to begin dreaming.

"Okay," Ichigo whispered to himself, "Here goes."

He concentrated on Byakuya's thoughts and sank down into them, letting them wrap around him and draw him in. He was surprised at how readily the noble accepted him and allowed him entrance. Warmth touched his face and he took a breath and opened his eyes.

He found himself in lovely, gardenlike surroundings that reminded him immediately of Kuchiki Manor. Long grass and flowers grew everywhere, and the meadows were lined with trails and blooming sakura trees.

"Wow," he sighed appreciatively, "That's just what I'd expect that you'd be like inside. Beautiful...warm...but there's something..."

Ichigo looked around and found the noble's reiryoku again, and followed it down one of the trails, deep into the trees, where the falling petals were so thick that they were difficult to see through. He sensed that Byakuya was near and hastened forward, then bumped into something and slid to a stop.

"Huh?" he mused, staring.

Byakuya's red spirit ribbon seemed suspended in the air, but seemed to end at that point. And try as he might, Ichigo couldn't seem to get past whatever barrier was there.

"You're here," he said softly, "I can feel that you're right in front of me. What's going, Byakuya? Am I doing something wrong?"

He thought for a time, then breathed in and closed his eyes, reaching out with his hand. He encountered something that felt like cold, steel bars. But when he opened his eyes, he couldn't see them. His mind pondered as he peered into the space ahead of him and slowly realized.

"An...illusion?" he whispered.

He touched the bars again and tried again to 'see' them. His fingers touched Byakuya's spirit ribbon again, and he very carefully tried to harmonize further. He thought of the noble and tried to pretend he was looking through the other man's eyes. As he did, something happened that made his inhale sharply and step back.

_He caught a glimpse of shapely, pale, naked legs that were curled beneath a kneeling body. Long black hair trickled down onto a bare and slightly trembling shoulder and a soft sob reached him._

"Byakuya?" Ichigo whispered, "Byakuya, let me in. Let me help you."

He looked ahead of him again and shivered as the area around him darkened and he was drawn into the illusion that seemed to surround the noble.

_Ichigo found himself suddenly standing outside a small, darkened cell that held a person who looked to not much different in age from him. At first, it seemed he must be looking at a girl, but as the person turned and their eyes met, he knew he couldn't have been more wrong._

_I'd know those big gray eyes anywhere!_

_"Byakuya!" he whispered._

_He stared at the uncharacteristically expressive, tearstained face, the shaking arms that wrapped around his too thin body and struggled for words._

_"Byakuya, who did this to you?" he asked finally._

_The youth blinked and stared back at him, as though not sure whether or not he was really there._

_"Who are you?" Byakuya asked softly, "Did he send you?"_

_"I'm a friend," Ichigo said, realizing that a young Byakuya wasn't going to know him yet, "My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. I came to let you out of here. Come on."_

_"Go away before he comes back. He will only hurt you. He'll probably kill you. He already killed my baby. He's a monster, Ichigo, and he said that he won't let anyone help me. He will kill anyone who tries to take me away from him. Go, before he comes back!"_

_"I'm not going to leave you here!" Ichigo exclaimed, grabbing the bars and testing the strength of the steel, "I'm going to get you out of here."_

_"Don't you understand!" Byakuya exclaimed, his teeth nearly chattering from the cold as he cried out, "You won't be able to see him! Nobody can! That's why they won't believe me if I tell them! And that is why he will reach me, no matter where I go. He said that I belong to him, and that anyone who tries to take me back will die. I don't want anyone else to die. And besides, no one can even find me here."_

_Byakuya froze for a moment, frowning. Then, he looked at Ichigo more closely._

_"How did you find me? How can you see me? His illusions are all around me. No one can see the truth. How can you? Who are you, Kurosaki Ichigo?"_

_Ichigo smiled and slipped his top off, then handed it to the other youth._

_"I'm the guy who's going to get you out of here. But first, tell me who did this to you."_

_Byakuya lowered his eyes._

_"You won't believe me!" he exclaimed, tears overflowing his eyes as he accepted the clothing and wrapped it around his spare frame, "No one will! He's nothing like they think, Ichigo. Aizen Sousuke is a monster!"_

_"Aizen Sousuke!" Ichigo breathed, his eye falling on a number of telling bruises on Byakuya's arms and inner thighs before the clothing covered them, "That's who hurt you?"_

_Ichigo bit at his lips and looked around briefly._

_"Well, he might have hurt you before, but he's not going to do it again," he said firmly, "I am going to get you out of here, Byakuya. And if he gets in our way, I will beat the hell out of him!"_

_"You don't understand!" Byakuya hissed urgently, "Aizen Sousuke is far more powerful than anyone realizes! You can't defeat him."_

_Ichigo smiled._

_"Okay, I'll be honest with you. Byakuya, you have to trust me, here. You are trapped in a dream. You're grown up now, the leader of your clan, and I have already defeated Aizen Sousuke. The guy is in prison. He can't really hurt you."_

_"No?" said Aizen's voice, "You think not? I would very much like to test that theory...Kurosaki Ichigo!"_


	8. What No One Knows Hurts Me

**Chapter 8: What No One Knows Hurts Me**

"Ichigo, do not look at his shikai!" cried Byakuya, "He'll hypnotize you!"

In a flash, Ichigo's sword was in his hand and swinging.

"Getsugatenshou!"

White light exploded around Ichigo's body, then streaked out and away from him, blinding him to Aizen's release and buying him a moment to address the cell door. He let his reiatsu strike the lock as Byakuya covered his face and turned his head away. The lock shattered and the door was blown off the hinges, opening the way for the youth to escape.

"Getsugatenshou!" Ichigo cried, sending another blast in Aizen's direction.

He reached out a hand.

"Come on!" he cried, "Let's get out of here!"

Byakuya's icy hand found his and the noble flash stepped wildly alongside him.

"Hey! I thought your powers were sealed away!" objected Ichigo, "How are you flash stepping?"

"I never said he sealed away my powers," Byakuya answered, holding onto the other youth's hand and keeping the pace easily, "Aizen taichou wanted to humiliate me, so he made the cage so strong I couldn't break the lock."

"The lock wasn't so difficult," mused Ichigo, "I think that if your powers weren't held back that you could have broken it."

"But I told you, my powers weren't held back."

"No? then, it must have been his illusions," Ichigo posited.

"I don't know," Byakuya admitted, shaking his head, "But I do know that we had best conceal ourselves. It won't take him long to find us again."

Their eyes were drawn to the sky as dark clouds began to roll in and a low rumble of thunder sounded.

"All right," Ichigo said, pulling the other boy close, "I'm going to make us disappear. But can you tell me what direction to go to find a cave or hidden place where we can talk?"

"That way," Byakuya said, holding on tightly as Ichigo tightened his grip on his sword.

"Bankai," breathed Ichigo, "Tensa Zangetsu."

"Wait, he'll sense...!"

"It's okay," Ichigo said, launching himself in the direction Byakuya had pointed, "I move so fast in bankai that he won't be able to follow."

Byakuya felt dizziness pass over him at the sight of the trees and scenery flashing by. His hands clenched and he closed his eyes against the sensation. Ichigo caught a glance of the young noble's pretty, smudged face and the wisps of hair framing it, and felt a soft jolt in his belly.

_So this is what he was like before? Rukia told me that she'd heard he was really different as a teen. Strong-willed. Cocky. Undisciplined. It doesn't sound at all like the Byakuya I know. Interesting..._

Rain began to fall, softly at first, then slowly building up into torrential downpour. Rising winds howled through the trees and darkness fell over Byakuya's inner world. Ichigo stole a glance at the youth who clung to him as he blazed through the darkness, seeking a safe place to touch down. Despite whatever he had been put through by Aizen, Byakuya had calmed quickly and was looking back over Ichigo's shoulder as he flew forward, and watching carefully for signs of pursuit. Ichigo's sharp eye found what looked to be a small cave, and he angled towards it, slowing as he reached it, then letting Byakuya down in front of it.

The two youths quickly searched the area and found it to be safe, then camouflaged the entrance and slipped inside. Byakuya motioned for Ichigo to step back, then invoked some kind of power Ichigo didn't recognize.

"What is that? What are you doing?" the shinigami substitute asked, "Won't Aizen sense it?"

"No," Byakuya answered, "It is a reiatsu concealing cage that disguises our energies as natural occurrences in our surroundings. This will allow us to rest and to talk."

Byakuya formed a small kido ball for light and studied the small cave, searching until he found several good sized rocks and gathered them.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Ichigo asked, his teeth beginning to chatter as the cold of their surroundings finally reached him.

"Making it warm," the noble explained, "Within the reiatsu cage, I can use kido to heat the stones without Aizen taichou sensing it. I thought that you might prefer that to freezing to death."

"S-sounds good," chuckled Ichigo, moving to help him.

"Place your palm over the stone, here," Byakuya instructed him, capturing Ichigo's hand in his, then blushing slightly and quickly releasing it, "Focus your reiatsu and let it warm the stone."

"Okay," Ichigo said, narrowing his eyes and imagining his reiatsu flowing into the rock.

The two youths flinched and covered their faces with their arms as the rock that Ichigo was warming exploded into tiny pebbles and showered them with the bits. Ichigo was surprised to see Byakuya's lips curve into a smile.

"Perhaps you should just allow me to do that," he said, focusing on the other stones and carefully heating them.

"Yeah," Ichigo said ruefully, "Kido isn't exactly my strong point."

"No," acknowledged the noble, "You seem to have a lot of power. And you shouldn't consider it a shortcoming that learning to control the outflow of that power takes time and effort."

He paused for a moment, a sad look overtaking his eyes for a moment, then disappearing again.

"My father was always telling me that when I was younger."

"You mean, there was a time when your kido was more like mine?" Ichigo laughed, trying to imagine Byakuya blowing anything up on accident.

"Everyone has to learn, ne?" he said simply.

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, feeling a warmth inside that didn't emanate from the heated stones, "I guess you're right."

Byakuya shifted, letting the wet shihakushou top that Ichigo had given him slide down off of his shoulders, then adjusted it around his seated body to cover his privates and bare bottom. He settled closer to the heated stones, sighing as their warmth slowly radiated outward and filled the small cave. The soft glow illuminated their bodies so that Ichigo could see the cuts and bruises, the defensive markings and signs of struggle that had left their angry evidence on the young noble's pale, slender form. Byakuya noticed him staring and avoided his eyes, choosing instead to gaze quietly down at the softly lit stones.

"Aizen was pretty rough with you, huh," Ichigo said finally, "You want me to try to heal some of those?"

"I don't know," Byakuya said, sounding amused, "I do not think that I want to share the fate of that stone you destroyed earlier."

Ichigo smiled in a way that made the other youth blush more fiercely.

"I don't think you're the kind of person who breaks easily," he observed.

"Well," said the noble, "That is probably what made me such a good outlet for Aizen Sousuke's hatred. That, and my title as 'heir' to the Kuchiki leadership."

"That's why he hurt you? Because you are heir and he was looking to take some kind of revenge on your family?"

"I think that is what he intended," Byakuya affirmed, "But...he was..._disappointed_ with me."

"Huh?" Ichigo queried, sensing something important beneath the careful choice of words.

"He wanted to degrade and humiliate me because he felt that I represented the pride and arrogance of the clan I am slated to lead."

Ichigo took a soft, surprised breath as he realized.

"He didn't expect that you had a heart that could be broken."

"No," Byakuya admitted, "And...he didn't realize the consequences of taking me sexually. You see, Ichigo, unlike human males, shinigami males are capable of becoming pregnant. Because our children remain in reiatsu form until birth, conception happens when reiatsu is implanted in the body of a lover, male or female. The desire and the act causes the formation of a reiatsu chamber, so 'gender,' as it were, is largely a matter of outward appearance. Because of all of this, when Aizen taichou assaulted me, he impregnated me. This surprised him, in that such conceptions are usually intentional. But some part of each of us must have secretly desired that continuance, even if we did not desire it of each other, or in that moment."

Ichigo lowered his eyes respectfully.

"You said that...he killed your baby, ne?" he asked cautiously.

Byakuya went silent for a moment, then swallowed hard against the pain that welled up inside at the memory, and forced himself to continue.

"Understand first that although I was very much Aizen's victim and wouldn't have chosen this path willingly, I was happy when I discovered that I was pregnant. Despite the situation and the person who fathered him, I could feel my child's soul very soon after his conception, and I loved him."

Byakuya closed his eyes and his hands shook softly where he held them clasped together in his lap.

"I could sense that he was a boy, and that his reiatsu was powerful...not surprising considering his parents. But what won my heart was that his soul lacked the darkness that possessed Aizen taichou's. I saw it as a sign of hope that amidst such pain and hatred, there could be something so pure and unspoiled as this child I was carrying."

He paused again and wiped away an errant tear.

"I knew that soon the elders would sense the child, so I confronted Aizen taichou, planning to have him arrested, now that I finally had proof of what he had done. But, I miscalculated his reaction. He forced me to miscarry. He made sure that I felt the disappearance of the boy I had already decided to call Akemi. He had been like a new sunrise in a world that had gone dark, Ichigo. But Aizen taichou said that I had no right to bear a child of his body, and that he needed no noble trash wife and no heirs to succeed him. He had a way, he told me, that he himself would live forever and that meant that heirs were unnecessary. So he took my child from me and then erased him from my mind. And strangely, it was only just before you came to my inner world that I remembered. Ichigo, you caused me to remember somehow. How did you do that?"

"I don't know," Ichigo answered, looking confused, "Are you saying that you remember other parts of your life now? I mean, after becoming clan leader?"

"I think so," the youth said, his confusion mirroring Ichigo's, "It is almost dreamlike, in that I cannot divine how 'real' it is, but...yes...I am remembering more now."

"Do you remember me now?" asked the shinigami substitute.

"I don't know exactly. I think I..."

Byakuya froze, his eyes going dark and hazy.

"Y-yes, I do."

His eyes widened.

"And that is why!" he exclaimed, "Ichigo, I remembered Akemi when I realized that...!"

He stopped himself forcibly, his expression betraying deep anguish.

"Byakuya?" Ichigo queried, "Are you all right? What were you saying? Why did you remember?"

Tears came to the noble's eyes and he loosed a shuddering breath.

"Byakuya!" Ichigo said urgently, "Please tell me what happened! Why did you remember the baby?"

Byakuya's warmer hands found Ichigo's and the dark, solemn eyes found his and held them raptly.

"Ichigo, you remember, you came to me about what Kugo Ginjou did to you?" he asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"We spoke for a time, and then you suddenly lost consciousness."

"I remember that," said Ichigo, "But why did that bring back your memory of the baby?"

He recalled then, waking to see Byakuya sitting with his back against the wall and his face buried in his hands.

"Byakuya..."

"I owe you an apology," the youth said penitently, "When the clan healer told me what had happened, I didn't know what to say to you. And you were still in need of rest. I planned to tell you when we woke, but, then I found that I could not. Even now, it is difficult. But, I think it is right that you should know, though it won't be easy to hear."

"What? What are you saying? You're saying that I was...?"

"You are human and shinigami both," Byakuya explained, "So, when you were with Kugo Ginjou, some part of you must have been longing in some way for completion, for continuance. And for some reason, Ginjou appears to have desired that you should become pregnant as well. I do not know whether the desire on his part was pure in intent, or if it was some part of a plan to ensnare you. But, that part of each of you that was shinigami met and you were impregnated!"

"What?" gasped Ichigo, his eyes going wide and disbelieving, "But...I'm a human! I can't...!"

"The part of you that is human cannot be impregnated," Byakuya explained, "But the part of you that is shinigami can. But, if your shinigami form becomes pregnant, then encounters your human form, the pregnancy becomes unstable, due to the paradox. You did not feel your pregnancy because your human body could not register it. But, when you came to Soul Society to meet with me, the shock of your transformation and the sudden release of the baby's reiatsu into your body caused the baby's reiatsu to destabilize. Thus, you collapsed and the child's reiatsu was lost."

"You're saying...that I was pregnant with Ginjou's baby? And I lost it? Because I crossed over? But, Byakuya, I changed forms and went to Soul Society several times after killing Ginjou!" Ichigo objected, "Why didn't I feel it? Why didn't it destabilize before?"

"I don't know," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "I wish that I could give you more answers, but, I can only say that I am sorry. The healer did say that even had we known before you came to me that night, the baby still could not have been saved, at that point. But I feel responsible. After all, I did place that marking on your hand to allow you to come to Kuchiki Manor. I am sorry."

"What's to be sorry about?" Ichigo said in a dazed sounding voice, "You didn't know. And you couldn't have stopped it. It's just...strange. I don't know how to feel. I mean, I had mixed feelings about Ginjou, and I get that the first time, he really took advantage of me, but...to think that there could have been a kid. I just...I don't know what to do with that."

"I understand," said Byakuya, moving closer to him, "Although I comprehended all along and so was better prepared when I became pregnant, I understand the shock of that revelation. Then, to be followed immediately with the loss. Ichigo..."

"I'm okay," Ichigo said quickly, his own mind uncertain about how 'okay' he actually was.

_What I feel is numb. Like when some part of me gets hit and goes numb before the pain hits._

_Shit..._

_I was going to have a baby? Ginjou's baby? But then, it was doomed from the beginning, because it came into contact with my human form. What the hell am I supposed to feel about that?_

He was startled out of his reverie as Byakuya's warm, naked body wrapped around his, and the noble coaxed his head down onto a bare shoulder. It seemed inconceivable that Byakuya could radiate such a sense of calm while still suffering from what Aizen had put him through before Ichigo's arrival in his inner world. But he sat perfectly still, holding Ichigo against him, his dark eyes wistful and surprisingly sympathetic, but notably dry and composed.

_It's so strange how we switch roles like this, _Ichigo mused inwardly, _He came to Karakura Town to help me. I came to his inner world to help him. Now, the shoe is on the other foot again and he's helping me. But it feels comforting._

_It's so good to know that he gets what's going through my head, and he isn't going to look down on me...not for being made into Ginjou's plaything, being misled, not for any of it._

_Byakuya!_

He wasn't sure how it happened, but suddenly found his lips crashing into the noble youth's, and his hands pushed Byakuya down onto the cave floor. His tongue thrust deep into the noble's sweet mouth and his hands held on tightly.

_I shouldn't be doing this._

_I don't know why I'm doing this._

_Why do I want to dive into those gray eyes and bury myself in his body and never come out?_

He felt tears on his face and Byakuya's fingertips brushing them away.

"Ichigo, I am sorry," Byakuya whispered against his lips, "If you need to act out, I understand."

He silenced the noble again with hard, biting kisses and pressed his body harder against Byakuya's, feeling the shiver of reaction and registering the soft sounds of the other youth's pain.

_I am...hurting him?_

He felt more tears roll down his face as memories of Ginjou raked his mind; the rough, sometimes brutal way he had made love to Ichigo, the words that pretended to be affectionate, but also caused pain.

_I don't want to hurt Byakuya the way Ginjou hurt me! The way that bastard Aizen already hurt him!_

With an effort, he made his kisses softer and his hands held on more gently. Byakuya looked into his eyes steadily, his own calm and quiet and his hands bracing as Ichigo's pulled free and began to touch him cautiously. Curious fingertips followed the curve of his fine carved breast, evoking a soft, aroused sigh. Byakuya's mouth opened wider and he moaned longingly between Ichigo's parted lips.

_Neither of us was touched gently, nor with real love. Aizen was a cruel bastard and even though Ginjou said that he loved me, even though he had been cut with Tsukishima's blade and thought himself my ally...what Byakuya said to me before was right. It didn't change that he was cold and calculating and used love as a way to manipulate me into working with them. He might not have been planning to betray me at the time. But it doesn't change the fact that love was something he used, not something we shared._

He ducked beneath Byakuya's chin and tasted the pale, soft skin of his throat, enjoying the soft, happier sounds he made and the way he moved his hips so that their awakening members rubbed tantalizingly lightly together.

_What am I doing?_

"Ichigo..." Byakuya sighed, tilting his head back, "Ichigo, we must stop."

_He's right. We should be focused on getting out of here and going back. But..._

"He said that he would kill anyone who touched me!"

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise.

"Aizen said that to you?" he asked, forgetting escape for a moment.

Byakuya's eyes cleared slightly and took on a troubled expression.

"He has said this many times. And he means it, Ichigo. Something that I came to realize when we were at Kuchiki Manor together and the past things he erased came back to me...Ichigo, it made me wonder. With all of the threats he made and how he used me, but then removed the memory so that I could not reveal him. Do you think that...maybe Hisana's illness was not an illness at all?"

The troubled look deepened into a tormented one.

"Ichigo! What if he did? What if he...?"

"Don't do that," Ichigo said, brushing several stray hairs away from his eyes, "Don't torture yourself with that. There's no use in it. If he did hurt her, there's nothing you can do about it now. The guy's in prison, and that means that he won't be hurting anyone anymore. Just let all of this go. We have to focus on waking you up. We have to get out of your inner world and find a way to stop these attacks that happen when we fall asleep!"

"You're right, Ichigo," Byakuya said, pulling free of him, "We have to stop Kugo Ginjou from attacking us this way."

"But how do we get out?"

"I don't know," the noble admitted, "Leaving one's inner world is usually an act of will. We should be able to leave by just willing ourselves out."

The two closed their eyes and focused on their resting bodies in the healing center, but a few minutes later were still present in Byakuya's inner world.

"This is so odd!" exclaimed Byakuya, "It's like this place has gone out of my control! I cannot seem to escape it."

"And neither can I," noted Ichigo, "I wonder why that is."

_It's like we've been caged._

_Ginjou trapped Byakuya here to try to let Aizen...!_

"Byakuya," he queried, frowning, "Did Aizen try to kill you here?"

The noble thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Ginjou just threatened me, and then Aizen appeared and attacked me. But he didn't try to kill me. He only sexually assaulted me, then locked me in that cell."

"What did Ginjou say to you?"

"Ah...he said that he was going to make me pay for trying to help you. I told him I wasn't afraid of him...that he didn't have the power over me that he had over you. He answered that he knew who I was afraid of. That is why he used Aizen."

"He used Aizen," Ichigo whispered, "But it's not the real Aizen, so how did he make him manifest?"

"I imagine he used my memory, since he has invaded my mind," Byakuya suggested.

"Which means that he created the image of Aizen..."

"Using my own mind!" finished the noble, "Ichigo, he tricked me into trapping myself here!"

"But Aizen seemed plenty real," Ichigo cautioned him, "He was able to injure you and imprison you."

He thought back to the cell that Byakuya had been in.

_The lock shattered easily for me, but Byakuya had perceived it as being too tough for him to break._

_Reflections. Perceptions This is Byakuya's inner world, so..._

Ichigo caught his breath softly.

"Byakuya, I think I have it."

"You have it?"

"I know how to get out of here! I want you to shatter the reiatsu cage."

"But Aizen will find us!" Byakuya objected.

"And when he does, you have to confront your fear of him. You have to really believe that he is in that prison and couldn't possible be here."

"But he hurt me before! He was here, Ichigo!"

"No!" insisted the shinigami substitute, "You believed that he was here and you allowed yourself to be hurt! That's the only explanation. So..."

"Ichigo, that's crazy!" Byakuya said, shaking his head.

"Crazy, why?" asked Ichigo, "You're here and a teen-aged boy again. That's not real, but you accepted it, right? And the cell you were in wasn't that strong, but you believed that it was and so it was able to hold you back. But you also believed that I could break open the cell, and I did. Byakuya, you have to convince yourself that Aizen is only a reflection of your memory of him. He can only hurt you if you let him. And you have to believe too that we can escape this place. I think you are the one holding us here because you believe in their power to hurt and stop us!"

"But how do we _know_?" Byakuya demanded, "How do we know if I open the reiatsu cage that Aizen won't capture us both?"

Ichigo started to answer, but was interrupted by an echoing, malevolent laugh.

"Ginjou, you bastard!" cried Ichigo, "Show yourself!"

"Oh, I don't think so," snarled the fullbringer, "I have a much better idea. Why don't the two of you _show yourselves_ to Aizen Sousuke? And you can see how much control you have to stop him, eh? Go on now, try!"

Byakuya and Ichigo gasped in shock as the reiatsu cage that the noble had made shattered, and the area around them dimmed oddly. They felt a strange swell of dizziness, then emerged to find that the cave had disappeared and they were standing in the open, where they had been in the beginning. And before they could gather themselves, a flash step sounded, and Aizen appeared in front of a stunned and staring Byakuya.

"You have become too much trouble," he said coldly.

Before the noble could respond, the former taichou thrust his sword through Byakuya's body, impaling the frozen shinigami as he stared into his tormentor's eyes.

"_BYAKUYA!_" screamed Ichigo, watching in horror as Aizen pulled his weapon free and the noble began to fall.

A blazing flash step sounded and Ichigo looked on in surprise as Byakuya's falling form disappeared. The noble reappeared a few steps away, Senbonzakura in his hand and slashing down at Aizen. The reflection of Aizen broke apart as Byakuya's blade ripped through it. He turned in the direction Ginjou's voice had come from, raising his blade again.

"Ichigo was right!" Byakuya cried defiantly, "He wasn't really here, but I feel that in some way, you are! Come out, Kugo Ginjou! Stop hiding behind illusions. Come and face us as you did before and Ichigo will only kill you again!"

"Not so fast," Ginjou said in a lower, more furious tone, "We still have things to do, Kuchiki Byakuya. But soon enough...soon enough you and your damned soul mate will achieve the fate you _so _deserve!"

He descended into wicked laughter again as Byakuya's power swelled around him and the forces holding them in his inner world shattered. The space around them went hazy and dark as the two broke free of the place and crashed back down into their bodies.


	9. A Moment to Breathe

**Chapter 9: A Moment to Breathe**

Byakuya's eyes flew open suddenly and his hands instantly tore at the electrodes that had been attached to him to monitor his body functions. Ichigo came awake a moment later and quickly captured his hands to stop him.

"Hey, don't do that. It's okay," he assured the spooked noble, "Unohana taichou was just monitoring your vital signs and making sure we were okay while I went to get you. You passed out and they couldn't wake you up, remember?"

"Ah!" Byakuya gasped softly, his eyes clearing as he regained his senses, "My apologies. I was disoriented for a moment upon regaining consciousness. I don't remember being brought here."

"That's okay," Ichigo said, smiling down at him from where he leaned over the noble, "I got a little turned around myself."

The two looked up as the door to the hospital room opened and Unohana taichou entered the room, followed by Urahara Kisuke and Yoruichi. Ichigo hastily tied his yukata back in place, while Byakuya adjusted the blanket that covered him.

"Don't you guys knock?" Ichigo complained.

"Usually," said Unohana, looking serious, "However, Kuchiki taichou's vital signs were very erratic and the reiatsu in the room swelled to the point where it knocked out the sensors and monitors in the room."

"You didn't notice the damage you two were doing?" Kisuke chuckled, looking around at the somewhat disturbed room.

Ichigo and Byakuya followed his gaze, then exchanged glances.

"We did all of that?" Ichigo asked, frowning, "Sorry about that."

"It is all right," said the healer, "But are the two of you all right?"

"I feel fine," said Ichigo, "What about you, Byakuya?"

"I feel fine as well."

"So, I assume that whatever was keeping you trapped in your inner world has abated?" asked that healer.

"Actually," said Byakuya, "there seem to have been two things affecting my mind."

"Oh?" queried Kisuke, "Do tell, Byakuya-san."

"First, we already knew that Kugo Ginjou had been invading Ichigo's dreams and tormenting him, but after I joined him in his dream, using the Dreamcatcher's kido, I also began to encounter Kugo Ginjou's presence. At first, I wondered if his presence was merely a figment of my own imagination, brought on by the fact of having been attacked by him in Ichigo's dream."

"But you don't buy that now?" asked Kisuke.

"No," the noble said, shaking his head, "What I experienced related to him was too different from the other presence that emanated in my inner world."

"And what presence was that?" asked Kisuke.

Byakuya met Ichigo's eyes for a moment, and the shinigami substitute's eyes. widened for a moment, then registered understanding and acceptance.

"I do not wish to explain," the noble said simply, "I will merely affirm that a person related to events of my past was used to 'attack' me in my inner world. But what emanated lacked the resonance of Kugo's presence. I know the man is dead, but I feel his presence in my inner world as though he was still alive."

"Huh," mused Kisuke, "Well, that definitely sounds like something that calls for some investigation. Ichigo, what's your read on the situation? Did you sense a difference in the presences in his mind?"

"I'd have to agree with Byakuya," Ichigo said, nodding, "What he described is what I saw there, and it's what's happening in my own mind when I fall asleep."

"Huh," mused Kisuke, "So, we have a presence that began in just Ichigo's mind, but when Byakuya used the Dreamcatcher's kido seemed to jump to his mind too?"

"I think that 'infect' might be a better word," Byakuya suggested.

"Right," said Kisuke, frowning, "This is very odd. I can see I'll have to give it a little overtime. You gentlemen mind if we run some medical tests before you go?"

"I have no objection," stated Byakuya.

"I'm okay with it too," said Ichigo.

Ichigo couldn't help but feel touched as Byakuya sat up and nudged closer to him, while Unohana taichou and Kisuke conducted their tests and quietly discussed the procedures and implications with them. He felt a soft jolt of surprise and sympathy at the hint of tension in his body and the edge of discomfort barely readable in his eyes.

_Damn, the closer I get to this guy, the more I realize how much of him isn't what it seems on the surface at all. I wouldn't have ever thought of Byakuya being vulnerable in any way before. But I can tell he's really not comfortable with this at all. What Aizen did to him still hurts him, even though Aizen's locked up. It's like with me and Ginjou. Ginjou is dead, but my skin still crawls at being touched where he touched me._

_I feel sad that Byakuya went through what he did, but I guess that's why he understands._

Ichigo slipped his hand into Byakuya's under the blanket, smiling at the almost imperceptible flinch, and the flicker of surprise and acceptance in his dark, quiet eyes. He was quick to note that although the noble said nothing about the exchange and gave no overt signs, he continued to let his hand rest in Ichigo's even once the battery of tests was complete.

"Well, I guess that's it," Kisuke said, glancing at Unohana taichou and receiving a nod of agreement, "I guess we'll sift through this and let you two know what we find."

"But we must be certain that you both remain safe in the interim," insisted the healer.

"Unfortunately, it's not as simple as sticking you in a safe house or protective custody," added Kisuke, "The battleground's in your own heads, so you have to be sure that the two of you watch out for each other. You'll need to take turns sleeping so that Kugo doesn't get to you before we figure out what the guy set you up for."

"Don't worry about that," Ichigo said, squeezing Byakuya's hand gently under the blanket, "We won't leave each other alone for a second."

"I hardly need a babysitter, Ichigo," Byakuya said, raising an eyebrow.

"Says that guy who went to sleep under a tree and almost didn't wake up," laughed Kisuke.

"I am sure that, just as I have things that I must see to here, Ichigo is busy as well. We can certainly meet at the manor in the evenings to make sure we monitor each other through the nights," the noble went on, ignoring him.

"Byakuya's right," Ichigo agreed, "I do have some things to do. We'll meet at the manor."

He felt a soft jolt inside at the feeling of reluctance in Byakuya's hand as it released his.

"Very well, then," he said quietly, "Unohana taichou, I assume that as there are no effects outside of our inner worlds..."

"No _known_ effects outside your inner worlds," Kisuke corrected him, "We really can't assume anything yet, if you know what I mean. There's a lot of research to be done."

"And Kuchiki taichou," said Unohana, looking into Byakuya's eyes meaningfully, "After the troubles in your inner world, you are not well rested. If you wish me to release you, I will only do so on the condition that you go home with Kurosaki-san now and rest for the rest of the day while he monitors you."

"But Ichigo said he is busy," objected the noble, "And I have duties at my division..."

Unohana's smile widened and Byakuya blinked in surprise and went silent.

"I am sure that Kurosaki-san is not so busy that he cannot go home with you now and let you sleep for awhile, ne?"

Ichigo swallowed hard and the feeling of terror that enveloped him for a moment, looking at the healer.

"Eh...uh, no, no problem," he said, sweat breaking out on his forehead, "I can stay with Byakuya while he sleeps."

_Man, that woman is scary!_

"Very well then," the healer said, nodding, "You are free to go, Kuchiki taichou."

"I'll be in touch about the results of the tests and scans I ran," said Kisuke, "just as soon as I get home and run them through the computers."

"We can meet back here when the results are in," said Unohana taichou, "And then, we should be able to devise a course of action to abate the interference of that man in your minds."

"Arigato, Unohana taichou, Urahara Kisuke," said Byakuya.

"Yeah, thanks," Ichigo added.

They watched as the fourth division taichou and shopkeeper left, then Byakuya slipped out of the bed and began to dress. Ichigo found his own clothes and dressed too, then followed Byakuya out of the room and away from the healing center. The noble was quiet and contemplative at first, but abandoned his silence about halfway to the manor.

"Ichigo, thank you for coming to assist me. I am grateful."

"Huh," said the younger man, "I don't know why you didn't just let me stay and use that kido to help you rest in the first place. Would it have been that bad for you to have to admit that you like me?"

"Who said that I like you?" the noble asked blithely, "Perhaps I merely don't want to let someone I am indebted to go insane and die."

"Bullshit!" laughed Ichigo, smirking, "You were casting love kidos and shit before you even _knew_ Ginjou was haunting me! Why don't you just cut the crap and admit it? You know, just say the words, 'I like you, Ichigo.' Is that so hard?"

"If my feelings for you are so obvious, then why do I need to state them?" Byakuya asked, glaring at him out of the corner of an eye.

Ichigo reached out a hand and took hold of his arm, stopping him and making him look back at him.

"What are you...?" the noble began.

He froze, staring into Ichigo's eyes as the ginger-haired youth kissed him lightly on the mouth.

"I get that you're not that open, but you also know that _I am_. What I think and what I feel is always out there where you can see it. But even though I'm that way, I know there are times when I shouldn't do things my way...when I should be sensitive to what _you _need. But it goes both ways, see?"

"You are saying that you need to hear the words?" Byakuya asked, lowering his eyes.

Ichigo smiled.

"Yeah, sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes."

"I see," said the noble, turning towards the manor again, "I will keep that in mind."

"Huh?" Ichigo said, blinking, then scowling, "You'll keep it in...Byakuya! Hey!"

Byakuya continued walking, a small, satisfied smirk touching his lips as Ichigo followed him, complaining all of the way back to the manor. They passed through the gates and walked through the gardens to the noble's bedroom, with Ichigo still grousing, though more quietly. As they passed through the garden doors into the bedroom, Ichigo yelped in surprise as Byakuya nudged the door shut behind them, then grabbed the front of his shihakushou and pushed him back against the wall, his steely gray eyes freezing him with a lusty glare.

"What the...?"

"I like you, Ichigo," the noble said, leaning forward to kiss him.

He went silent again as Byakuya's warm body pressed up against his, and the noble's hungry mouth attacked his. He flinched at the first long kiss, his mind firing back to his lovemaking with Ginjou. But though Byakuya's hands and body held him in place against the wall as they kissed, the emotion beneath the action felt passionate, without being overly aggressive. And as much as Byakuya's lips were possessive in the way they captured his, they felt wholly different than the fullbringer's. He found he couldn't get enough of them and returned the noble's kisses enthusiastically, secretly wishing that they were close enough to the bed to just fall onto it.

But the thought of what would happen in that bed made him freeze up again for a moment, and he felt Byakuya pull away slightly to look at his face.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly, his eyes expressing calm understanding, "I am sorry. I was only trying to..."

"I know," Ichigo said, managing a smile, "And I'm glad you kissed me like that. It's just...I'm kind of, I don't know..."

Byakuya's hand found his and squeezed it gently.

"You don't need to explain. I will 'let you lead.' That way, nothing will happen that makes you uncomfortable."

"And what about you?" Ichigo asked, "You can't tell me that what Aizen did to you doesn't come back and catch you by surprise, ne?"

"It does," the noble admitted, "But, I have a long history of reining in my reactions when it comes to such things."

Ichigo's lips tightened and he shook his head firmly.

"No. I don't want you to hide that stuff from me," he said, looking into the depths of the other man's dark eyes, "We need to be honest with each other if we're going to have trust. When I touch you, I want to know what's going on inside your head, good or bad. That's what lovers do, right?"

Byakuya caught his breath softly in surprise.

"We are...lovers then?" he said, blinking slowly, as though the idea had never occurred to him.

"Well, we're kissing a lot," Ichigo said, smiling at the blush it brought to Byakuya's cheeks and throat, "And I don't know about you, but when I start kissing you, it isn't like when Ginjou kissed me."

"Ichigo."

"It isn't like that at all. I don't feel nervous. I don't ask myself if it's the right thing. I don't have to."

Byakuya's eyes closed and he bit his lip gently as Ichigo's hand captured his and guided it down to where his member swelled prominently beneath his clothes. He breathed his next words hotly into the blushing shell of the noble's ear.

"And even though sometimes there are moments when I think of what happened with Ginjou and it hurts inside, mostly, when it's you I'm with, all I feel is good. All it is, is warm. And all I want is more."

Byakuya opened his eyes and gazed quietly down at where his hand still rested on Ichigo's hardness.

"I understand," he said, swallowing hard, "But realize that there are things we have to consider..."

"Your place as clan leader?" Ichigo asked, flustering him more by moving his hips very slightly, rubbing suggestively against the noble's soft fingertips.

"That," Byakuya confirmed, "But also the fact that neither of us has been in what can be considered a 'stable relationship.' The way we were raped was different. Kugo Ginjou used pressure and emotional manipulation, while Aizen used hypnotism and force."

"What about your relationship with Hisana?" Ichigo asked, "Wasn't that stable? Normal?"

Byakuya turned away from Ichigo, walked to the bed and sat down. He took a breath to steady himself, then released the truth he had promised himself that he never would.

"I loved Hisana in the way that a person loves a dear friend. We...never had relations."

Ichigo stared at him blankly.

"I thought that you didn't start remembering what Aizen did until he left for Hueco Mundo," he objected.

"Yes," affirmed the noble, "I did not remember. But, it seems that my body remembered being hurt sexually. When I overheard several of the elders pressuring my grandfather to compel me to marry, I was surprised at the amount of apprehension I felt. I...thought that something was just wrong with me. I didn't realize what was making me feel that way about getting married. About being with someone sexually. So, I took the assignment in Inuzuri. Hisana caught my attention when she was injured trying to assist some street children who were being terrorized by a hollow. We became friends, and when it was time for me to return, I asked her to come back with me. I explained to her that I could not face being forced into marriage. I married her instead, and simply never had relations with her. We shared a bed, and we kissed in front of others so that it would not be obvious. She was someone I loved, just not sexually. I do mourn her still, because she was the closest friend I had. But we were not lovers."

Ichigo let out a soft, wounded laugh.

"So...it sounds like neither one of us has any idea what it's like to really be in love, ne?"

Byakuya lowered his eyes and said nothing.

"Well," the younger man went on, "I guess that means that we'll just have to take things slowly, right? We'll just feel our way along, and tell each other when one of us or the other is uncomfortable...unless..."

Byakuya looked up at him again questioningly.

"Are you waiting for me to tell you that such a thing cannot happen because of who we are?" he asked, "Because I am a full shinigami and a clan leader? Because you are a human? I might have said such things before, but it seems that I can't anymore. I can't say those things and be honest with myself."

"Then...?"

"I am not saying that it will be easy. There are barriers we will face, not the least of which is this man who has invaded our minds and now threatens us both. but, that being said, I think that we need to try."

"Sure," said Ichigo, coaxing him to his feet and beginning to undress him.

Byakuya stood silently as Ichigo's hands freed him of his uniform and left him in just a plain white yukata. Then, the shinigami substitute undressed himself likewise. They opened their yukatas and laid down in Byakuya's bed, both flustered at what was likely to happen between them all too soon.

"But we have time for that," Ichigo said, watching as Byakuya settled onto his back, then sprawling lazily across his chest, and making his blush deepen, "First, you need to rest like Unohana taichou said. She showed me how to use that kido to take away your dreams. Go ahead and go to sleep. Trust me, I won't let that creep get near you. Get some rest and we'll start to figure things out more later."

Byakuya's gray eyes looked up into Ichigo's as the younger man invoked the kido to help him fall asleep.

"Thank you, Ichigo," he whispered, "I am glad you are here."

Ichigo smiled down at him and waited until he was sleeping peacefully.

"Yeah," he said softly, "Me too."


	10. Erase and Renew

**Chapter 10: What I Would Do If...**

Byakuya woke to an incredible feeling of deep warmth and perfect relaxation. It should have seemed odd to find himself so, while lying on his back with another man's hot, naked body spread out across his chest, the man's nose buried in his hair and his breath gently teasing the fine, sensitive skin of the noble's throat. Indeed, in the past, such a situation would have found the Kuchiki heir looking up through wide, hazy eyes into brown eyes that were far more sinister than this man's. He pushed away the thought of that other man with an effort. He didn't want to lose the wonderful feeling that had found its way inside him with the sudden entrance of Kurosaki Ichigo into his love life.

_"We are...lovers then?_

If he hadn't been sure at the moment he had asked the question, he was sure as Ichigo's head lifted slightly upon the younger man registering his wakefulness. A smile warmed those gentler eyes and made Ichigo's face even more inviting. Byakuya felt his own lips curving into a rare, lovely smile.

"You look like you slept well," said the young man, his fingertips tracing a porcelain cheek.

Byakuya couldn't resist a little bit of characteristic sarcasm.

"Well, you were surprisingly capable in your employment of those sleep kidos," he said, smirking slightly.

"Huh," the younger man huffed softly, disturbing the noble's satin hair, "I told you I wouldn't blow anything up. I'm too determined not to let anything happen to you."

"Yes, I see that," Byakuya sighed, wanting to sink into those heartbreakingly affectionate eyes and never emerge from them, "You are...very protective of the people you...care about, Ichigo."

Impossibly, the younger man's smile warmed even more, and his soft, happy chuckle resonated all through Byakuya's gently trapped and very bare body.

"The people _I love_," Ichigo corrected him.

Byakuya's eyes registered surprise. They blinked slowly as he tried to make sense of the words. But the words only spun more wildly in his mind as that smiling mouth closed in on his and firmly claimed it.

_The way he looks at me through such loving eyes, the way he touches me, like doing so is both an honor and a sweet pleasure, the simple truth in what passes between us, this is love, isn't it? _

_This is what love feels like?_

_Why was I afraid of it?_

_What Aizen Sousuke indulged in with me was not love. I think I knew that all along. But in my young mind, I thought that him touching me sexually meant there was some kind of love, even if it was twisted and cruel in nature. But love, it turns out, isn't like that at all. Falling into love for the first time makes clear that what happened to me before was not any kind of love, but pure, hateful and cruel abuse._

_And recognizing that seems to be allowing me to let it go._

_Yes, it doesn't hurt nearly so much when looking into these eyes, when feeling his touch all over me, when his kisses warm my mouth. That other man's horrid words vanish under the force of this man's very simple, pure offers of affection._

_How extraordinary..._

And extraordinary fast became stellar as Ichigo's voracious mouth plundered his, as his searching hands slid over the perfect curves and planes of Byakuya's body, igniting a scintillating internal fire that flickered all around the two, and threatened to burn out of control.

Ichigo's mouth released his, and blazed a trail of kisses down the side of his flushed face. The noble shivered as the kisses became harder, and the sharp tips of the younger man's teeth teased the sensitive skin of his throat and shoulder. A languid tongue found one pale earlobe and caressed it into blushing submission, and the words that followed resonated all through Byakuya's soundly shaken heart.

"I love you, Byakuya."

_Impossible..._

_This man and I were enemies...two forces that collided and tried to break each other apart. But that was before I really knew him, before the way he protected Rukia, the way he sought to save Orihime, and then the way he saved Soul Society from Aizen Sousuke destroyed the mistrusting barriers I had placed around my heart long ago. And when he sacrificed his powers to save us all, when he humbly accepted being no more than a 'simple human,' he became even more in my eyes than when he was strong. _

_How odd it feels to go back and see clearly now the pathway that our love took to get to this point. And now, to know that all that we did, every step we took, each pain we endured was all to reach this place of comfort and beauty, and to erase the stings from each others' hearts._

_Ichigo..._

He wondered if he had said that name aloud, as lust grew like a flame in Ichigo's piqued expression, as the hands that explored Byakuya's body lost some of their gentleness and became more passionate. His hips moved in a slow, steady motion, rubbing their bodies together, sending lovely, erratic flutters of intensifying arousal through both of them.

"Ichigo!"

He was shocked at the sound of his voice.

_But it shouldn't be surprising. This is the sound of one lover calling out for his mate. And this, what he is doing to me is his answer to that._

And it began to feel as though the younger man was devouring him. Seething tongue and marauding fingertips caressed him, then traveled downward. Ichigo's kisses lit small fires on his skin as they made their way down his gently heaving chest and over his soft, vulnerable belly. He sucked in a surprised breath as that devilish tongue found his navel and dipped inside, then slid out again slowly, and continued downward.

"Ichigo..." he panted, closing his eyes.

He couldn't stifle a satisfied groan as the younger man's mouth pleasured him. He was so overcome with pleasure, he forgot completely that there had ever been anyone else, that anyone had made him feel scared and hurt.

He was almost convinced that Ichigo had finally shattered Aizen's hold over him. Then, a damp, curious finger touched his entrance, and everything crashed down. Byakuya took a tremulous breath and realized that he was shaking. In the next moment, he realized that Ichigo had stopped and raised himself, and was now staring down at him.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I am fine," Byakuya assured him.

"Bullshit. You think I couldn't feel the way you changed just now?" the younger man asked.

"Hmmm," the noble mumbled in a non-committal tone, "So, you want to stop because we have reached an uncomfortable boundary? How very unlike you. You seem to delight in breaking down walls and smashing through barriers, Ichigo. So, go ahead. I am not resisting."

"But you are reacting," said Ichigo, "So, I think before we go on, we should do something about that."

"What do you mean?" the noble queried, blinking.

Ichigo smiled and lifted his hips, parting his thighs and straddling Byakuya's body.

"Ichigo, you do not have to..."

His breath was suddenly taken away as Ichigo positioned himself to be taken.

"Ichigo," Byakuya said, stopping him, "You, too, have difficult memories of someone else. You would not hurt me, and I feel the same about hurting you. Perhaps we should stop for now."

"Are you kidding me?" Ichigo said, shaking his head, "Byakuya, you _know_. You know like I do, that we are _never_ going to get those bastards out of our heads if we don't replace our memories of what happened with better ones."

"But being touched by me is sure to..."

"So, let it bring the memories back," Ichigo argued, "And we'll smash them to pieces and write new ones together, ne Byakuya?"

The suggestion left Byakuya breathless all over again.

"Th-then, you take me first," he insisted.

"No," Ichigo said stubbornly.

And before the noble could protest further, Ichigo began moving again, clenching at the bedding and bowing his head, closing his eyes as he brought their bodies together.

"_Ichigo!_" the noble gasped, "Are you...?"

The question disappeared into an inferno of blazing heat that exploded around him as they became one with each other. He took Byakuya into him in small measures, then, gazed down into Byakuya's entranced eyes and smiled.

"This doesn't feel wrong," he whispered, "And it doesn't feel strange. It feels very, very right, and it feels natural to be with you like this, Byakuya."

"Does it?" the noble asked in a surprised tone, "You didn't seem so comfortable with the idea of having a male lover before. Why is it different now?"

Ichigo's smiled warmed even more.

"It would have been awkward with _anyone else_, male or female," he explained, "But with you, it just feels right."

Byakuya started to answer, but lost the ability to speak as Ichigo's body began a slow, gentle rise and fall atop him. His own body responded without hesitation, rising up to meet Ichigo's in a series of increasingly harder and faster movements. He watched the younger man's face carefully for signs of discomfort, but found only honest passion, young love and intoxicating pleasure. Ichigo's hand clenched the bedding more firmly, his body quaked and soft, hungry moans escaped his lips. The sight of him like that, given over to the heat of their passions made the energies in the noble collide. He forgot his caution, his reservations, everything but the joy of being one with his new lover. He thrust hard and fast into Ichigo's poised body, moaning out his name heedlessly as pleasure roared like fire through his veins, sending him toppling over the edges of desire and exploding into glorious release.

The sound that came out of Ichigo as the younger man was filled with Byakuya's proud essence was so deep and satisfied and sexy that the noble forgot about his nervousness at being penetrated. All that he wanted was to feel his lover's power overwhelm the one that had enslaved his young heart and body so long ago. He wanted warmth and love to wash over the places in him that had been tainted by heartlessness and cruelty, to be set free from the darkness of that man who now sat bound in a cell in the lowest part of the Central 46 prison.

He loosed that desire in a flurry of enticing kisses as he brought them both up onto their knees on the bed. He climbed onto Ichigo's lap and, still kissing him, impaled himself on the younger man. Ichigo gasped and grabbed his hips in dismay.

"Byakuya! What are you...?"

His words disappeared into a heady barrage of heavy, penetrating kisses. Ichigo groaned longingly at the incredible heat that surrounding him, at the softness of the body that wrapped so tightly around his, and the lovely sakura scent that filled his senses. Byakuya's hands clung to his shoulders, and the noble leaned against him, panting hard as he gave over everything to giving Ichigo pleasure. And as he felt the younger man's body seize and begin to shudder, his own was jolted with a second climax as powerful as the first.

"Gods, Ichigo!" he gasped in surprise, as the younger man's heat blossomed inside him, "How did you...?"

He fell onto his back and Ichigo collapsed on top of him, smiling widely and caressing the nearly senseless noble's lips with softer, sweeter finishing kisses. Byakuya would have drifted off, but remembering how Ichigo had only just finished watching over him as he slept, he send a gentle pulse of kido through the younger man to send him off to sleep. Byakuya laid quietly then, with Ichigo splayed out across his naked chest, his head rested on the noble's shoulder, and soft, contented snores sounding in Byakuya's ear. Byakuya's fingertips gently teased the short lengths of his hair, traced the lines of his sleeping face and soothed away the nightmares before they could disturb his sleep.

_Yes, we still have much to conquer, do we not, Ichigo? That man still occupies our minds and threatens us. But whatever it takes, I will free you from him. You broke Aizen Sousuke's hold on me after all of this time. And if it is the last thing I do, I will free you from Kugo Ginjou!_

He held Ichigo quietly, watching him sleep and mulling over all that had happened between them. It all made sense, where it hadn't before. All of the scattered pieces of the events made more sense viewed through eyes filled with love, and a body filled with true love's powerful essence.

Then, a sudden realization jolted him.

_Ah! We have made ourselves vulnerable to pregnancy. I don't think either of us is ready for that._

He reached into the drawer next to the bed and removed two charms he had placed there upon realizing the turn that their association was taking. He slipped one around his own neck and one around his lover's, sending a pulse of kido into each to charge it.

"What's that?" Ichigo said, touching the charm Byakuya had placed on him with a curious fingertip.

Byakuya gave him a fleeting smile.

"Assurance that parenthood waits until we are ready," he explained.

Then, he blushed furiously at what he had just implied.

Ichigo laughed and brought him down on the bed for another bout of steamy, open-mouthed kisses. They surrendered again to their passions, then exited the bed and adjourned to the shower together. They stood quietly beneath the steamy spray, letting their hands roam freely over each other, relaxed and calm in the aftermath of their lovemaking.

Byakuya rested his head on the younger man's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"So," Ichigo said, smirking, "You're thinking that we're going to just stay together permanently, ne?"

Byakuya lifted his head and fixed him in place with one elegant gray eye.

"Did I say that?" he asked coolly.

"Well, not in so many words, but...then, you're not so much one who speaks loudest with his words. What you do is a much better sign of what you're thinking."

"And you think that you know what I am thinking?" the noble asked.

"Yeah," laughed the younger man, leaning forward and breathing into a blushing ear, "You want me to have sex with you again."

Byakuya smiled enigmatically and brought his lips to Ichigo's ear.

"I love you too," he whispered, making the ginger-haired man freeze where he stood, "How is that for speaking my thoughts?"

Ichigo's brown eyes flared, and he pushed the noble back against the tiled wall, invading his mouth forcefully. He took his stunned lover, still standing, then nearly had to hold him on his feet as they washed each other clean and left the shower.

Ichigo blushed at the sight of the two attendants that waited for them in the dressing area, but noting Byakuya's calm acceptance of them, he settled and actually enjoyed being dried off and dressed by someone else, although he would have preferred that person be Byakuya.

"So, do you even know how to dress yourself?" he joked.

Byakuya arched a fine eyebrow.

"I dress myself at the division quite often. What, did you think that Renji does that for me?" the noble asked, smirking.

"He'd better not," Ichigo said, wrapping his arms around the noble from behind and kissing him on the throat, "I think I'd have to kick his ass."

"Oh, so I am your property now. Is that it?" Byakuya said coyly.

"No," Ichigo chuckled, pulling him in for another kiss, "You're my lover."

Byakuya paused, thinking for a moment.

"Then, you will not let _anyone_ touch me without your consent?" he asked.

"You've got it," Ichigo said firmly, "And I hope it's the same for me."

"It is," Byakuya agreed.

He went quiet again, thinking of the man who sat bound in Central 46. Then, he turned out of the dressing area with Ichigo on his heels.

"Ichigo, I wonder if you might go and see what progress Urahara-san is making in Karakura Town."

Ichigo eyed him curiously.

"Are you trying to get rid of me for some reason?" he asked pointedly.

Byakuya frowned.

"You know, Kurosaki, I _am_ a clan leader and a taichou. I cannot lay about all day making love and carrying on. I have responsibilities to see to. And we do need up to date information as soon as it becomes available."

"Okay," laughed the younger man, "I was just messing with you."

"I am aware of that," Byakuya said, hiding a smirk, "Get out of here, Ichigo. I have to go to work."

"All right, all right! Sheesh!" the younger man huffed, heading for the door, "But just so you know, I will be back."

"I will inform the guards."

"Smartass!"

Byakuya felt a smile on his lips and touched them with a fingertip as he watched Ichigo leave. He left his bedroom then, and walked out of the manor, pausing for a moment before turning towards Central 46. He wondered at the step he was taking and reconsidered several times before reaching the prison.

But he was clear about what he had to do.

He was greeted by the guards at the compound's entrance, then had time to again question what he was doing several more times before he reached the lowest level of the prison and headed for a heavily guarded door. The guards greeted him respectfully, and opened the door, allowing him to enter.

"Leave us," he said calmly, sending the guards reluctantly out the doors.

The lock echoed as it clicked into place, leaving Byakuya alone with his former tormentor.

Aizen's one uncovered eye fixed on him, and a chilling smile rose on his lips.

"Why, Byakuya, my sweet little plaything!" he said sedately, "What brings you to the depths of hell?"


	11. Demon Inside Me (Take Two!)

**Chapter 11: Demon Inside Me**

**(I got the feeling that the previous version of this chapter didn't meet the goals I had for it, so this is the revised and superior version. Thanks for your patience while I sorted this out. :) Enjoy this 'new, improved' chapter 11!)**

_"Why Kuchiki Byakuya, my sweet little plaything, what brings you to the depths of hell?"_

Byakuya approached the heavily bound prisoner slowly, his footsteps echoing softly in the room as he moved.

"Did you miss me?" Aizen went on.

"You refer to this cell, to those bindings as hell?" the noble mused, stopping in front of the man and glaring down at him, "You do not know the meaning of the word, This place is a paradise compared to the damnation that you truly deserve for what you have done."

Aizen's smile was chilling.

"Are you speaking about the crimes I was actually tried for?" he asked silkenly, "or is this about what I did to you personally?"

Byakuya spotted a nearby chair and placed it in front of the bound man, then sat down, facing him.

"I was speaking of your crimes in total, actually," the noble went on, studying him quietly, "And while you will never stand trial for what you did to me, I am relieved that you are here and unable to inflict further damage on me, or anyone else anymore. Yes, that is a great comfort."

Aizen gazed at him appraisingly for a moment.

"Byakuya, why are you here?" he asked, watching the noble's lovely face as he considered the question.

Byakuya looked back at him calmly.

"When one is surrounded by darkness," he said finally, "everything looks threatening, even things that have no power to harm us...a robe on a chair, a bundle of clothing on the floor, reflections of light in a looking glass."

"Ah, you believe that I am harmless now, is that it, Byakuya? You think that you are 'safe' from me?"

"I do not delude myself into thinking that you will ever be harmless, but...you are like the beast that has been muzzled and chained, Aizen Sousuke. You are free to lunge and snarl at me, but you cannot reach me, nor can your teeth penetrate my skin."

"So you believe," Aizen said, smirking, "but you have not answered my question, Byakuya. Why are you here?"

"I suppose that I need what any other would, given the circumstances. I am here to look my abuser in the face, to acknowledge what happened, and to put it behind me."

"But it is already behind you, you understand," Aizen replied, "As you said, _the beast_ has been muzzled and chained. You are no longer an innocent teen, Byakuya. You are a proud clan leader and taichou. You have grown wise, and may I say, even more beautiful. If I was not trapped in this place, I would be enjoying you thoroughly while contemplating the spoils of a battle won. It was my plan, having trapped you in Hueco Mundo, to return and capture you and to make you a 'mother' to my progeny so that they would carry on my power and your beauty."

"And just as before, you felt the need to steal that from me?" Byakuya asked, his frown deepening, "It is ironic, isn't it?"

"What is ironic?"

"It is ironic that had you approached me honestly, I might have loved you."

Aizen's uncovered eye widened.

"You...?"

"I loved the person who I thought you were," Byakuya explained, "the gentle scholar who enjoyed studying history, astronomy, sciences and excelled in calligraphy and art. I found you to be intelligent and wise, kind and thoughtful. When you were not hypnotizing and raping me, you sincerely tried to help me improve in the development of my abilities. And you saw potential in me that no one else seemed to see. Had you put your arms around me and only told me that I meant something to you, I would have given myself to you willingly."

"So, then," Aizen surmised, "In reality, I stole nothing that you wouldn't have given me anyway?"

"No. You stole what belonged to the man you represented yourself to be. Perhaps that person never existed in reality, but he was a part of _my_ reality, and when he disappeared, to be replaced with you, I was devastated."

"But if you understand that Aizen Sousuke, the gentle scholar, was just a construct and that he never really existed, then why come to me, Byakuya? I never loved you. I lured you to me, hypnotized you and took advantage of you repeatedly. When you became pregnant, I killed the child inside you. And perhaps you don't realize, but when you were married, it wasn't the 'hard life in the Rukongai' that killed Hisana."

"What?" Byakuya whispered, his eyes rounding, "You...killed Hisana? You...?"

"Poisoned her slowly," Aizen said quietly, his words echoing chillingly off the prison walls. You never figured that out? How unobservant. But then, the healers never discovered it either, did they? Had they uncovered what was really happening, they could have saved her, Byakuya. Ironic, ne?"

"Why? Why would you do that? If I was a mere plaything to you, why would you...?"

Aizen's uncovered eye blinked slowly.

"I don't appreciate other people playing with my toys."

Byakuya's eyes darkened and his reiatsu rose dangerously.

"Hisana was my friend. My very closest friend."

"She touched something that belonged to me," Aizen said curtly.

"I do not belong to you," Byakuya said, standing, "I never did. What you took from me was stolen. All of it!"

"But, by your own admission, you would have given in to me anyway."

"No. I would have given it to the Aizen Sousuke I knew then, but never to you! And it was not the gentle Aizen taichou who hypnotized and raped me. It was you!"

"Yes," Aizen agreed, "I did all of those things to you. I saw you, a young, lovely and powerful noble heir, and I used that image of the gentle Aizen taichou to deceive you. I waited until we were alone, then hypnotized and raped you repeatedly. I purged your mind of the memories so that I could repeat the crime hundreds of times over decades, Byakuya. And when you were impregnated, I destroyed the evidence so that it would not expose what I was doing, so that it could continue endlessly. I did all of this, and only stopped when I left for Hueco Mundo. But I never felt an ounce of remorse, and I fully intended to take possession of you and use you as a consort, once I became king. You are a noble. You serve the king, ne? So, you would have been my servant. And all of the preparation, the training that I imposed on you would have made you a wonderful servant indeed!"

He paused and studied the noble silently for a moment before continuing.

"But all of this should be obvious to you now, Byakuya. And it does not explain why you have come to visit me today. Are you planning to tell me, or will you just leave me to ponder it on my own?"

"Justice," the noble said softly.

"What?" Aizen said, looking back at him curiously, "What did you say?"

"Aizen Sousuke, there are two things that distinguish my family, above and beyond our title, as granted by the soul king. One is that we are meticulous keepers of the history of Soul Society, and the other is that we are fastidious supporters and enforcers of the law."

"Yes, that is well known," Aizen agreed, "But what has this to do with anything?"

"In order to further our ability to capture and preserve the Seireitei's rich history as it happens, our clan leader is always in possession of the means for doing that."

Aizen's eye regarded him blankly for a moment, then registered understanding.

"I see," he said quietly, "So, you have recorded our conversation. Now what? You will take this to the Central 46 council and do what? Reveal to these delegates who come mostly from the noble houses that the leader of the greatest of the noble clans is little more than a pretty slut that I used to pleasure myself? I am sure that will make you very popular, Byakuya. Just, it may not be the kind of popularity that you want, ne? _Such_ an embarrassment this would be for you. Are you sure that you want to do this? I mean, all that would likely happen to me is that a thousand or two years would be added to my already meaningless sentence. Why open yourself up to the scorn of your peers for so little?"

"Is that all that you think I will gain? That is quite short-sighted, coming from you. I am surprised you wouldn't realize."

"Realize what?" Aizen inquired calmly, "That you would become so desperate to get back at me, that you would sacrifice your own reputation? Really, Byakuya?"

"My reputation will not be tarnished. I choose to believe that when all of the facts are known, others will find it impossible to blame me for falling victim to such a capable liar and manipulator as yourself. And as to what I will gain, know this. First, your freely given, unforced confession will earn you a longer sentence, but that will not be all. In addition to being labeled a foul traitor and murderer, you will also be branded a rapist. Add to that, the fact that I was underage, and you will be known as a child molester. But that is not all."

"Oh?" queried Aizen, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember that I, myself, am recorder of the Seireitei's history. And having regained my memory of those events, I will be sure that none in my family ever forget what you did to one of our most powerful leaders, when he was a naive, young teen. Still, it will not just be my own family, the Kuchiki family archive provides the basis for shinigami historical education at the shinigami academy. Every young shinigami who is educated there, will be taught that you are a beastly traitor, a liar, a manipulator, a murderer and a rapist. That is going to follow you forever, wherever you go."

"That is easy enough to erase, when I..."

"You will never be king," Byakuya said with certainty, "You will sit in this hellhole, watching the dust gather in the corners. And even once your time is served, the judges you face will know, in full detail, all of your crimes, as well as your lack of remorse. Do not fool yourself, they will _never_ let you out of here. The ones who sentenced you knew it would be this way. You will spend eternity, bound and hated here, while I and my children, and their children grow up in a world that is better for you not being a part of it!"

"And who will make those children with you, Byakuya?" Aizen asked, his smirk returning, "For know this, even from within this _hellhole_, I can strike at you. You will never see it coming. Once again, you will watch the one you love die slowly, before your very eyes. Is that what you want, Byakuya?"

Byakuya felt a jolt of fear clutch at his insides, but kept his face calm.

"It is fortunate, then, that I have made myself strong, and that my lover has proven already to be even stronger than me."

"It doesn't matter," Aizen said mockingly, "It doesn't matter at all how strong you and your lover are, I am stronger yet, and have a longer reach than you know!"

"Is that so?" Byakuya asked, his voice taking on the mocking edge that Aizen's had, "Then, if you can strike at me, strike me down now."

The noble came to his feet and stood quietly, gazing back at the prisoner, with calm eyes. A long silence followed, in which each looked back at the other and waited.

"I see," Byakuya said finally, "Then, that concludes my business with you. I take my leave of you now, Aizen Sousuke. Enjoy the torment that you have earned."

He turned and started towards the door, unaware as Aizen's one uncovered eye blazed and his reiatsu rose suddenly. Sensing the change, Byakuya looked back just in time to see the bonds on the other man shatter as Aizen Sousuke came to his feet. He took the noble to the floor, one hand wrapping around Byakuya's slender neck.

The door to the cell opened and flash steps sounded all around them. Aizen's glared down into Byakuya's widened eyes and started to tighten the hand that clutched the clan leader's throat. He froze as the point of a sword touched his back and a familiar voice sounded.

"Don't even think about it," Ichigo warned him, as the guards surrounded him and recaptured his hands, freeing Byakuya, who came to his knees and watched silently as the prisoner was dragged back to his chair and his bindings were replaced and set with a more powerful seal.

Ichigo sheathed his blade and returned to the noble's side, offering him a hand and helping him to his feet.

"You all right?" he asked, his eye still on Aizen, who gazed at the two of them hatefully, while the guards finished binding him, "I thought he was going to snap your neck before we could get to you."

"I am fine," Byakuya assured him, the fingertips of one pale hand touching the bruised area of his throat, "I will be fine. I have what I came here for. That man is going to pay for what he did to me."

"Really?" Ichigo asked, a smile touching his lips, "That's good. He should pay. He hurt you and he deserves to pay for that."

"Thank you, Ichigo," Byakuya said, lowering his eyes.

Across the room from them, Aizen's one uncovered eye narrowed.

"So, this is your new lover, Byakuya? How very interesting. This _is _a surprise!" he hissed softly.

"I think it is a sensible decision," Byakuya said, meeting the prisoner's eyes squarely, "Who better to protect us from the wicked Aizen Sousuke than the man who is most responsible for putting him in Muken, where he belongs?"

"This place will not hold me, Byakuya. You can count on that! And whether it is while you are alive and I come to destroy him and reclaim you, or it is later and I dig up your brittle bones just to spit on them, I will humiliate you to the end, Byakuya! You can depend on that!"

Byakuya's eyes blinked slowly as he considered the words, then slipped a hand into Ichigo's and turned away.

"Sink back down into the abyss, Aizen Sousuke," he said softly, "I have what I want, and I am done with you."

Wicked laughter followed the two out of the cell, and a relieved look overtook the noble's face as the cell door closed, cutting off the sound. Ichigo turned and slipped his arms around Byakuya, meeting his eyes bracingly and seeking the warmth of his mouth for several kisses.

"You sure you're all right?" he asked, pulling away slightly.

"I told you. I am fine," Byakuya assured him again, "That beast is where he belongs and what I took from him in there will make sure that he never leaves that place, and that he will be known for the horrid criminal he is. Not just because of his betrayal, but because of what he did to me. Thank you, Ichigo, for being here. I don't know how you knew to follow me, but I am glad that you did."

"Yeah, well, I had a feeling you weren't just running off to work. There was something in your eyes that told me different."

"Well, I am grateful," the noble said, meeting Ichigo for another long kiss.

He pulled away and removed a small device from with in his clothes. He handed it to the watch commander and nodded.

"Please see that this reaches the Central 46 council. Have them contact me for a personal statement. I will be happy to provide one."

"Hai, Kuchiki taichou," the man said, bowing, "I will see to it personally."

Byakuya led Ichigo back up, out of the depths of the prison and into the brightness of a lovely spring day. He noticed Ichigo laughing to himself and gazed at the younger man curiously.

"What is so funny?" he asked curiously.

"Heh," Ichigo chuckled, "Did I really hear you say that I am stronger than you?"

"Well, you _did_ defeat me. And you defeated Aizen Sousuke, who I could not have. You _are _stronger than me."

"Well, it took something desperate on my part to become as strong as Aizen, you know. I had to sacrifice my powers altogether to fight him on equal ground, so yeah, I was as strong as he was...but only long enough to weaken him so that Kisuke could seal him away. And when I fought you, you know I only won because my inner hollow came out. It was his strength that overcame you. It wasn't really a fair fight."

Byakuya gave him a rare smile.

"Then, I am glad that it was not a fair fight that day," he said softly, "I won far more than I lost in conceding to you, Ichigo. I never forget that...not for a moment."


	12. Empty

**Chapter 12: Empty**

"I thought you told Unohana taichou that you were going to rest properly now," Ichigo chided his noble lover as Byakuya sought his lips for several slow, hungry kisses.

"I have done little but rest for the past few days," Byakuya replied, letting his fingers play over the younger man's chest and opening his yukata more for a better view of him, "So much inactivity makes me restless."

"So...what, are you saying that you want to go for a walk or something?" Ichigo asked, smirking.

"Actually, it _would_ be enchanting to share a moonlight walk with you and indulge in some stargazing. Unless that is too tame for someone like you, who is much more accustomed to fighting hollows and protecting everyone."

"You do those things too, you know," Ichigo said, kissing his way down the noble's graceful white throat and nibbling at his shoulder.

"Yes, but I only fight because it is necessary. I would avoid it altogether if I did not have to engage in it to protect my family and friends. You have a more spirited nature, like Abarai's, and would have to have some way to burn off the aggressiveness, if not by fighting."

"Hmmm," Ichigo chuckled, "What could I do to burn off energy, so I wouldn't get into unnecessary fights? Let me think..."

He smiled as Byakuya arched an eyebrow and gazed back at him reprovingly.

"Okay, okay!" laughed the shinigami substitute, "How about we take that moonlight walk first?"

"I would like that," Byakuya said, sliding out of bed and gracing his lover with a glance at his lovely, naked body before closing and fastening his yukata and heading for the garden doors.

"You know, it's not nice to tease me like that," Ichigo joked, "You show me that gorgeous body of yours, then take it away and make me wait, just knowing what's underneath your clothes."

"Some would consider that 'building suspense' or whetting the appetite," the noble suggested sedately, "After all of the waiting to reach this point, I would not want you to quickly become bored with me and lose interest."

Ichigo laughed and breathed in deeply the gentle fragrances of the gardens as they walked.

"Like I could ever get bored with you. You're really different. Heck, you're nothing at all like you seemed to be when we first met. And you know, I'm...really glad now that Rukia asked you to go to Karakura Town and try to help me. You can't begin to know how much of a difference it's making."

Byakuya smiled quietly and slipped a hand into his as they continued on, out the back gate and down the forest trail.

"Before, I was really confused. I didn't think that Ginjou raped me. It wasn't that obvious, you know? I didn't think of something like that as rape. And I blamed myself for what he did. I mean, I convinced myself that if I didn't want it, I could have just stopped him. I don't know, maybe I could have, but he knew how to manipulate me...how to corner me. He might not have known that he was going to turn against me, but that didn't make what he did to me any less wrong."

"No one should pressure another into sexual intimacy," Byakuya agreed, "And you shouldn't feel guilty for what he did to you. Ichigo, if I ever make you feel uncomfortable..."

Byakuya found himself unable to finish the sentence as the younger man pushed him up against a tall pine tree and plunged deeply into his mouth. It took several breathless minutes to tear themselves away.

"Byakuya," Ichigo said, blushing, "I was confused at first, and I didn't really know for sure that I was gay. But I know what I feel when I'm with you. You don't make me uncomfortable at all. And I know that if I tell you to stop, you will."

"I will," the noble agreed, leaning forward to meet the ginger-haired youth for more warm, open-mouthed kisses.

They reached the cliff at the top of the large waterfall and stood quietly under the moonlight, holding hands and saying nothing...just letting the evening light wash over them and leave them comfortable and relaxed.

"We should go back," Ichigo said finally, "Unohana taichou will kill me if I don't make sure you rest."

"You certainly are unnerved by her," Byakuya commented, smirking as he turned with the substitute shinigami to return to the main building.

"Heh, isn't _everyone_?" asked Ichigo nervously.

"Yes," Byakuya confessed, looking amused.

They walked back down the trail and passed through the gate, into the gardens, then across them to Byakuya's room.

"I wonder if Kisuke will have some more information for us soon," Ichigo mused.

"Perhaps by morning," Byakuya suggested as they climbed back into the bed.

He only meant to kiss the younger man good night, but found himself in a much longer bout of kisses and sensuous touches that made him quickly forget how tired he was.

"Damn," Ichigo sighed, "I want to be with you again, even though I know you need to sleep."

"I will be fine," Byakuya assured him, "I have enough energy for this."

"Huh," huffed the substitute shinigami, "I don't know about that. Once we start making love, it's really hard to stop, you know?"

"I understand," Byakuya said, teasing his earlobe with a lusty tongue, "I seem to suffer from the same affliction."

"What'll we do about that?" Ichigo laughed.

He lifted himself slightly, then pounced on the noble, nipping at his lips and rubbing his awakening member against Byakuya's, making his lover's breath and heartbeat quicken. Byakuya engaged his seeking lips in several longer and more passionate kisses, moving his hips to increase the friction between them. The noble's hands slid around the younger man's sides, then slowly down his back, lingering to caress his round bottom, while their kisses intensified and the stronger movements of their hips made the friction between them so delicious as to leave them breathless. Ichigo moaned, pushing Byakuya's hands away as the noble tried to prepare him.

"Forget it," he panted, his eyelids fluttering as he repositioned himself, "I want you now, Byakuya!"

"Such impatience," Byakuya chided him, pulling his hips away so that the younger man groaned and reached down to curl a hand around him, "I do not want to hurt you."

"I don't care if it hurts some!" Ichigo snapped fiercely, "Byakuya...!"

He turned, rolling onto his belly and lifting his bottom off the bed suggestively. Byakuya turned with him and laid along his side, still attacking with warm, open-mouthed kisses and running his hand down his lover's white back, over his bottom, then teasing his sensitive areas and evoking lovely moans of desire.

"You are beautiful, Ichigo," he whispered in the younger man's ear, nipping it and making Ichigo's back arch, "You seem so much more comfortable with this."

Ichigo blushed and looked back over his shoulder as Byakuya spread out across his back, rubbing his hardness against the younger man's bottom and gently assaulting the back of his neck with biting kisses.

"I am more comfortable with you," Ichigo confessed.

He shivered and panted harder as Byakuya's warm breath heated a flushed earlobe and the ends of his hair tickled Ichigo's shoulder.

"And it isn't...just because I accept that I am gay now. I would have loved you, whether you were a man or a woman. It's your soul, Byakuya. When you are with me, it's like it gets inside me and drives me crazy all over. All I can think of is making love to you."

Byakuya smiled and ran his tongue languidly along Ichigo's blushing throat.

"I am glad that you have resolved your feelings about this. Being with you this way is intoxicating to me. I have never experienced anything on this level before. I love you."

Ichigo laughed shakily.

"Then, do this already!" he exclaimed, seeking the noble's lips over his shoulder, "I can't wait anymore!"

He loosed a voracious growl as the noble entered him, and raised his hips higher, welcoming his lover into his body with a heavy groan of contentment. He met Byakuya's deep thrusts eagerly, his head spinning with rising pleasure. One of his hands clenched at the bedding, while the other sought Byakuya's hand and held on tightly as their movements intensified and Byakuya's moans of pleasure mingled sweetly with his.

"Oh god!" Ichigo gasped, "This is...it's...oh god, Byakuya!"

His body seized, and his moans gave way to a ringing howl of pleasure. He felt Byakuya flatten himself against his back and then the rush of heat that filled his achingly wanting insides.

"_Byakuya_!" he moaned, his own seed spilling onto the bed.

His ears rang noisly inside his head and he collapsed all of the way onto the bed. Byakuya came down beside him, equally overcome. A calm lassitude passed over the two as they laid on their sides, panting and gazing into each other's eyes. They held themselves back from sleep, but were soundly shocked as Ginjou's voice sounded in their whirling minds.

_You are unwise to let your guard down. You think that I can only hurt you when you sleep, but when you weaken yourselves like this, it becomes easy to overcome you!_

"Ichigo!" Byakuya gasped, his eyes widening.

He tried to sit up, but was forced down again by the shinigami substitute's strong hands.

"Ichigo, what are you doing?"

A chill went through Byakuya as he read the senselessness, then rising malevolence in his lover's brown eyes.

"Ichigo!"

"You are becoming a hindrance," Ichigo's voice said with an inflection that was clearly Ginjou's, "I warned you what would happen if you continued to interfere with my plans."

"What are you doing?" Byakuya demanded, wide-eyed, "How are you doing this to him? Ichigo killed you!"

"Yes," Ginjou answered, using Ichigo again, "But...as I died, I sent my soul into his body. I hid there, inside him, weak and nearly dead. But because we had been together sexually, I was able to latch on to him and use him to build my strength up. I am strong enough now to overwhelm and use him!"

"I won't let you!" Byakuya cried, surging onto his knees and taking Ichigo by the shoulders, "Ichigo! Ichigo, hear me! You have to come back now. Ichigo!"

"Shut up!" Ginjou roared, toppling the noble and bringing him down hard onto his back, "He can't hear you."

"Yes, he can!" Byakuya raged, "I can feel his soul. He is fighting you still. You won't be able to hold him back, and you will never be able to control him!"

"Of course I will," Ginjou said coldly, "I am controlling him already. He killed me. He stole my life. So, I am taking his away from him."

"I won't let you!" Byakuya hissed, taking hold of Ichigo's yukata and glaring into his blank looking eyes, "Ichigo!"

He reeled as Ichigo's hand struck him across the face, sending him crashing to the floor. Footfalls sounded outside the bedroom doors, and Ichigo's eyes went deadly as he wrapped a hand tightly around the stunned noble's throat.

"Tell them to go away!" Ginjou ordered, "Or I'll kill you right now."

"Byakuya-sama?" called Torio's worried voice, "Byakuya-sama, is everything all right?"

"Answer him!" hissed Ginjou, loosening his hand slightly.

Byakuya turned swiftly, expertly pinning the younger man, then freezing as Ichigo's eyes blazed and his reiatsu rose dangerously.

"I will kill all of them," Ginjou warned him, grabbing Byakuya's wrists and shocking him soundly with a punishing burst of reiatsu, "I won't just stop with you. Everyone in this place will die!"

"Byakuya-sama?"

"I...! I am f-fine, Torio," Byakuya answered finally, collapsing as Ginjou shocked his body with another jolt of Ichigo's relentless reiatsu, "Leave us."

He stared up into Ichigo's glazed eyes as they flickered with recognition for a moment, then faded again.

"Ichigo!" the noble called desperately, "You can overcome him. It is your body he seeks to control. Fight him...!"

He gave a pained gasp as the grip on his wrists tightened again and Ichigo's eyes blazed with Ginjou's hatred.

"You are a thorn in my side, Kuchiki Byakuya," Ginjou snarled, using Ichigo's voice, "But you are about to be plucked out."

"You won't be able to hurt me. Ichigo won't let you. He is stronger than both of us!"

"That may be," said Ginjou, "but I have control now and that means that I _can_ hurt you! You and Ichigo share a resonance, I know...one so deep that it has made you over into soul mates. You share access to each others' inner worlds and you can touch each others' souls directly. But...do you understand what the danger in that is, Byakuya?"

"Let go of me!" the noble growled, trying to pull away.

"The danger," Ginjou said with chilling calm, using Ichigo's powerful reiatsu to hold the noble in place, "is that if one of you is possessed as I have possessed Ichigo, that openness between you can be exploited."

"Stop this! Ichigo! Ichigo, answer me!"

"He can't answer you," Ginjou said coldly, "He can't help you. And he can't stop me. I am going to show you why you should have heeded my warning and stayed out of this. If your soul is determined to fight me for control of Kurosaki's body, then I have no choice, but to _rip it out of you_!"

Byakuya made a startled gasp of disbelief as Ichigo's hand spread out over his chest, then clenched. He would have screamed as he felt his soul captured in that unforgiving hand, then yanked out of his body, which instantly collapsed onto the floor. Everything went black around the noble as he felt himself driven down into Ichigo's inner world and trapped there.

_But he will let me go. He will regain control and he will let me out of here._

_Ichigo!_

_Ichigo, hear me!_

Smothering reiatsu surrounded the trapped noble, and he lost awareness. The last sound he heard as he faded away was Ichigo screaming his name.

_Ichigo._

_You must fight him._

_Do not let him have you._

_Ichi..go..._

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo groaned and stirred sluggishly, then blinked in surprise at finding himself lying on the floor, naked and on top of an equally naked and senseless Byakuya. He caught his breath nervously and shook the noble gently, trying to wake him.

"Byakuya?"

He swallowed hard, his heart pounding furiously as he obtained no response from his lover.

"Byakuya, c'mon. Wake up!"

_Shit! We must have both passed out or fallen asleep or something..._

"Byakuya!"

He shook the noble more vigorously and felt a jolt of terror at how limp and unresponsive he was.

"Byakuya! Come on. Snap out of it!"

_Oh god, Ginjou must have attacked him while we were out._

He lifted the noble into his arms, then laid him on the bed and quickly dressed him.

"I'm gonna take you to Kisuke," he said, desperation invading his voice, "He'll know how to get you to wake up. It'll be okay."

He picked Byakuya's body up again and opened the family senkaimon. His heart in his throat, he raced through the dark corridors of the precipice world, calling out soft reassurances to the unconscious man in his arms. Byakuya remained silent and motionless, but for his breathing and the soft beating of his heart. That he was alive was a reassurance, but Ichigo found it chilling that he couldn't feel the noble's presence as he had, even when Ginjou had attacked him before.

He reached the exit and flash stepped down into Karakura Town, and through the park by the river, up the long street to Urahara's shop. He burst inside, calling out frantically for the shopkeeper. Kisuke appeared instantly in the hallway, scratching his head sleepily and blinking at the sight in front of him.

"Ichigo, I was just about to send you guys a hell butterfly. I've made some headway with..."

"Kisuke, something happened to Byakuya!" Ichigo interrupted him.

Kisuke's eyes darkened as he moved forward and examined the noble carefully.

"Did you guys fall asleep? Was he attacked, like before, when he used the dreamcatcher's kido?"

"It wasn't like that!" Ichigo exclaimed, shaking his head vigorously, "We...we didn't fall asleep. I think we lost consciousness. I don't know what happened while we were out, but when I woke up, Byakuya was like this and I couldn't wake him up!"

"Well, it will probably be like..."

"No!" Ichigo insisted, "It didn't feel like when he fell asleep and Ginjou messed with him before. Kisuke, I can't feel his soul! Put your hands on him! He's not just unconscious. It's like he's not even there!"

Kisuke leaned over the stricken noble again, laying his hands on Byakuya's forehead and chest and probing with his reiatsu. Suddenly, his body went taut.

"What is it? What happened to him!" Ichigo demanded, "Kisuke, tell me what's going on!"

Kisuke relaxed slightly and straightened, biting at his lips, then nodding in acquiescence.

"Okay," he said, meeting Ichigo's eyes squarely, "I'm going to be honest with you. I don't know what happened while the two of you were out cold, but one thing is sure. And that is that our Byakuya-bo is not just unconscious. Ichigo...he's not even in there!"

"What?" Ichigo gasped, his eyes rounding, "Kisuke, what happened to him?"

"I don't know. But I do know that Kuchiki Byakuya's soul is not in that body."

"What?" Ichigo said breathlessly, his legs collapsing as he slid to the floor.

He shook Byakuya's senseless body as tears erupted from his eyes and his voice grew more desperate.

"Byakuya! Byakuya, answer me! BYAKUYA!"

A bedroom door opened and Tessai stepped out into the hallway.

"Ichigo," the shopkeeper said gently, "Let Tessai take him."

"No!"

"He's just going to make him comfortable. That's all. And then, I promise you that we are going to get to the bottom of what exactly happened to him."

"But...Byakuya...he is...he can't be...! Kisuke, he can't be...gone, ne?" Ichigo panted, his head spinning with realization, "We can...we can find him and bring him back?"

"I'm not sure what we can do," Kisuke answered honestly, "but Ichigo, we are going to do our damnedest to get to the bottom of this and to help him. I'm not giving up and neither should you. Come on, now. Let Tessai get him settled and then we'll start working this out."

Ichigo nodded numbly, watching as Tessai took the noble's body from him and carried him into one of the bedrooms. He laid the noble in bed and tucked him in comfortably, then left to join Kisuke.

Ichigo sat down next to the bed and captured a limp, pale hand, letting his upper body collapse onto Byakuya's slowly rising and falling chest.

"I'm not letting go of you, okay?" he sobbed softly, "I'm going to stay right here. I'm not going to let that bastard take you away from me. I'll stop him, Byakuya. I swear, I'll stop him and I'll bring you back!"


	13. Search Yourself

**Chapter 13: Search Yourself**

Ichigo laid alongside Byakuya's unresponsive body, holding one limp, pale hand in his and caressing the noble's face and hair. A tear slid down his cheek and his body shook softly as guilt raked his mind.

"Why don't I remember what happened?" he raged at himself, "I was there. I should have protected you. But I don't remember anything that happened! I can still hear your voice. You haven't stopped calling out to me. It feels like your soul is still close to mine, but you're not here. Byakuya, what can I do? How do I get you back? Where are you?"

He kissed the noble's soft, pliant lips, wishing that by some miracle, they would firm under his and kiss him back...break the spell that had taken him away and give him back to the man who loved him.

"Byakuya..."

"No luck yet?" Kisuke asked quietly from the bedroom doorway.

Ichigo sat up and wiped the tears away from his eyes. He stared down at his unconscious lover, straining for any sign of movement...a flicker of reiatsu...anything telling.

"No," he answered in a low voice, "I don't get it, Kisuke. I don't understand what happened to him. He was there with me. We had just made love. He was happy...really happy, and I was the reason he felt that way."

"Yeah, it's pretty clear how tight the two of you are now," Kisuke replied, looking down at Byakuya's immobilized body, "I think you could get through to him if he was in there, but Ichigo, you understand that he isn't."

"But if he isn't in his body, then what happened to him? Where could he be? When Ginjou attacked him before, he was trapped in his inner world. I tried reaching it, but it's like it doesn't exist. I don't feel any connection with his mind or heart at all! I just hear him calling my name. Damn it! What happened to him? How do I find him?"

"Look," Kisuke said, resting a supportive hand on his shoulder, "I want to be clear, here, that I am not asking you to give up on him. I'm not saying that at all. But you need to understand that there is the possibility that Ginjou somehow overcame Byakuya and destroyed him from inside."

"I'm not going to believe that!" Ichigo shouted savagely, "He is...somewhere! I know he is. I'm not going to give up on him, Kisuke. I'm not!"

"I told you. I'm not asking you to do that," the shopkeeper assured him, "There are other possibilities here, and if it's none of them, I'll think up more. I'll do whatever it takes. Trust me, Ichigo. If Byakuya can be found, we will find him. You can have faith in that."

Ichigo gazed down at Byakuya's lovely sleeping face, tears filling his brown eyes again.

"I do," he whispered, "I trust you to find a way to get him back."

Kisuke nodded.

"The fact that you hear his voice could mean one of three things," he went on, "It could just be your imagination, the desperation you feel, wanting to find him so badly...an illusion conjured because you don't want to accept it."

"But you don't look very convinced of that," Ichigo said, frowning.

"Well, as much as your emotions can run high in times like this, you aren't a person who turns his back on the reality of things. You know what I mean? You're grounded enough to know that some things are inescapable. And you're not insisting that he's still in his body. You acknowledge what we both see. The core of his soul, what makes him the person we know, is gone. That leaves two possibilities."

"Which are?" Ichigo asked, looking back at Byakuya's lovely, pale face with devastated eyes.

"Ah, it's possible that someone...can't say who would have the motive, but _someone_, entered Kuchiki Manor and somehow approached the two of you without being seen or sensed."

He studied the instantly skeptical look on the younger man's face.

"But you don't think that's possible?"

"No," Ichigo said, shaking his head firmly, "While I might suck at reiatsu sensing, Byakuya doesn't. And add to that, the level of security around that place, especially because we were on our guard at the time. We were being careful. Even after making love, we planned to take turns sleeping. We..."

Ichigo paused, his face paling as a flash of memory touched him.

_"Ichigo!" _

_"Ichigo, what are you doing?"_

_"Ichigo!"_

"Are you all right?" Kisuke asked, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Y-yeah," the ginger-haired youth answered, shaking his head to clear it.

"You remember something?"

"Ah...I don't know," Ichigo admitted, frowning and straining his mind to remember, "Something happened."

"Okay," Kisuke said bracingly, "Close your eyes and relax. Just let it come back to you."

Ichigo let his head fall onto Byakuya's shoulder and relaxed, letting the warm scent of sakura play over his senses, and willing it to bring back the truth he could feel as being close, but too elusive to capture. He caught flash images of Byakuya's handsome face looking unnaturally afraid, felt pearly nails dig into his skin and heard the noble's desperate voice calling his name repeatedly. Tears threatened again, but he forced them down and focused all of himself on the connection between the Kuchiki clan leader and himself.

"I don't know what's happening," he sighed, finally, "But something has me real worried, Kisuke."

"What's that?"

"I don't remember what happened, exactly. But I have this really creepy feeling that..."

Ichigo's eyes grew intense, and he swallowed hard, steeling himself, "Kisuke, I get this really awful feeling that the person who attacked Byakuya...was me."

"What?" Kisuke asked, observing the young man closely, "You want to tell me what makes you feel that way?"

Ichigo took a shaky breath, gathering himself.

"I remember Byakuya calling to me, and he was holding me really tightly. I think...I think he was trying to hold me away. And, he looked scared, Kisuke."

"Hmmm," mused the shopkeeper, "That sounds pretty extreme for our Byakuya-san, ne?"

"There's not much that can scare him," Ichigo acknowledged, "But, you know that when someone gets inside Byakuya's radar, he's much more vulnerable. It takes a lot to get past his defenses."

"But, from the way things worked when you were helping him escape his inner world, I'd say you are definitely inside his defenses."

"And we know that Ginjou...or something connected to him, has been screwing with my inner world."

"So, you think that maybe..."

"Kisuke, I don't know if this is possible, but what if, when I killed Ginjou, he somehow...got inside me?"

"Huh..."

"Think about it. He was a human, a fullbringer, and his physical body died. I brought him back to the living world, myself, and I know his body was dead. We all assumed that his soul went to Soul Society. But...what if it didn't?"

Kisuke's eyes darkened at the prospect.

"You mean, what if he somehow latched on to you, and that's what is in your inner world?"

The two went quiet, both looking down at Byakuya's motionless body.

"If he could do that," the shopkeeper deduced, then it's just possible that he used the same method to rip Byakuya out of his body."

Ichigo's face went sheet-white, and he clenched his softly shaking hands.

"That means," he said in a trembling voice, "That either he killed Byakuya's soul, using me to do it..."

"Or," Kisuke said, touching Ichigo's arm, "Byakuya has been imprisoned in _your inner world this time, not his_!"

Kisuke gazed deeply into Ichigo's eyes, his heart sinking as he saw them begin to change.

_Oh, no you don't,_ he thought, invoking a powerful kido spell and dropping the shinigami substitute in his tracks, _You may have gotten into Ichigo's head and done something wicked to Byakuya-san, but it will take a lot more smarts than you've got, to get the best of me!_

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya's mind spun in blackness, his heart breaking apart inside him as he couldn't help seeing Ichigo's enraged face as it had been when the fullbringer, Ginjou had taken over and torn the noble's soul free. He wondered if he was still alive, or if his body, like Ginjou's had died, and he now only existed somewhere in the depths of Ichigo's overcome mind.

"Ichigo!" he called desperately, "Ichigo!"

_Please hear me!_

A chill went through him as Ginjou's mocking voice sounded in his mind.

_He can't hear you._

_He isn't going to save you._

_You are going to die, and you will die painfully. And when I am done with you, Ichigo will remember what I used his own hands to do to you, and he is going to suffer for what he did to me._

"What about what you did to Ichigo?" Byakuya screamed into the darkness, "You found him and you _knew_ that he would do anything to regain his powers, so that he could protect the ones he loves. You knew that, and you used it. You played on his desperation and his longing to be there for his loved ones. You dangled hope in front of him and led him on. Then, you raped him and used him to get the power that was never meant to be yours. Ichigo has a pure heart, and until he met you, he had a pure body. But you fouled that, and that is something for which I will never forgive you. And no matter what it takes, I will destroy you and take Ichigo's soul back for him. I won't let you do this. I won't let you do this to Ichigo!"

"You are delusional," Ginjou said calmly, "There is no way that you can hope to ever overcome me. Don't you understand? I have taken control of Ichigo, from the inside. I control his body and his powers. Killing me in body did him no good. I have what I wanted anyway! Ichigo's powers are mine to control. I can finish what I started!"

Byakuya reeled inside, but forced his riled heart to calm and his thoughts to focus.

"How did you do this?" he asked softly, "Was it because you bonded with him physically?"

He felt Ginjou's eyes glaring down at him, but still could see nothing in the darkness around him. Odd chills went through him as someone's hand touched him. The contact should have felt foreign and threatening, but Byakuya was stunned that the hand he felt touch his face and the fingers that caressed his lips were all too familiar to him.

_Ichigo!_

_His soul feels closer now than it did before._

_I wonder if that means...?_

"How did I do this?" Ginjou repeated mockingly, "Do you really think that I will tell you that? You think I am stupid?"

"I think you are careless...heartless, using the ones around you shamelessly, then abandoning them when they have served your purposes! You did this to the other fullbringers, and you did it to Ichigo. No one, it seems, escapes that path with you. You are without loyalty, without..."

Byakuya reeled as Ginjou's foot connected with his stomach, stealing the breath from his lungs and sending pain rocketing through him. He heard laughter, that, strangely, was released in not Ginjou's voice, but Ichigo's.

_And, again, Ichigo's soul feels closer._

_I wonder._

_If I can get him to remain in Ichigo's form, could I connect with Ichigo and help him to fight Ginjou's hold over him?_

"You're probably still wondering how this all works," Ginjou said, using Ichigo's voice, "And I'm not going to tell you, but maybe you can learn something useful from a demonstration."

Byakuya loosed a hard cry of pain as what seemed to be Ichigo's foot drove itself into his belly again.

"Isn't that funny? You have no body, but I am still hurting you as though you do. Have you figured it out yet?"

"Y-you are attacking my soul core," Byakuya reasoned, "But...how?"

Stars exploded in his mind as he felt Ichigo's foot strike his face, and the area around him seemed to waver ominouly.

"You know that the soul core is only exposed to oneself and to a soul mate or soul bonded."

"Ichigo wouldn't have soul bonded with you!" Byakuya hissed, spitting blood out of his mouth.

"You don't think so?" Ginjou laughed, using Ichigo's voice again, "Ichigo was young, naive and desperate. He made himself vulnerable to me. He opened his heart to me when we were together."

"You mean when you were lying to him about your feelings for him and raping him? Is that when?" Byakuya said mockingly.

_Stay in Ichigo's form..._

He screamed in pain as Ichigo's foot connected with his ribs.

"You could never convince Ichigo to soul bond with you," he panted, coughing in agony as his ribs throbbed with every intake of breath, "The soul bond is a sacred bond that can only occur between souls in honest love. You _never_ even attempted to forge that kind of bond with him. You used lies and manipulation. But you never used love, or anything like it! So, how did you do this?"

Byakuya froze as another presence loomed up in his mind. His body felt chilled to the core as he registered a familiar, derisive laugh.

"Don't worry. He's not actually real now. He is just a shadow, built from the memories of your battle with him. But, you remember how Tsukishima invaded your mind and made himself a part of your past?"

"I do," Byakuya answered softly, "Are you saying that...?"

"Tsukishima did not cut Ichigo with his power."

Sudden realization stunned Byakuya's frozen, bound form.

"_He shared his power with you_!" Byakuya concluded, "And then, you...?"

"I slipped my presence into Ichigo's mind, stealing the place of the man who would one day be Ichigo's soul bonded..._You_, Kuchiki Byakuya!"

"You _bastard!_" Byakuya seethed, fighting the bonds that restrained him, "How dare you do something like that? Those bonds are sacred! They...!"

"They are powerful," Ginjou said coldly, chilling Byakuya with how he could make Ichigo's voice sound so wicked, "And they were useful in breaking him down. He gave in to me, time and time again, not because he loved me, but because his confused senses gave me that place inside him that was meant for you! So, in a sense, it was not me who betrayed Ichigo and made him vulnerable, Kuchiki Byakuya, it was _you_!"

Ginjou moved closer, threading his fingers into the bound noble's hair and pulling his head back roughly.

"Do you hate yourself for doing that to the one you love?" Ichigo's voice hissed in his ear, "Do you regret being the one who could make Ichigo's heart melt, could make him weaken and give in? Do you want to die for being the one who made it possible to set him up?"

_"Let me go_!" Byakuya cried, "If you want a fight, I will give you one, right now! Or are you too much of a coward to fight honorably?"

Byakuya reeled and gasped painfully as Ichigo's foot struck him again.

"But, don't you remember, Byakuya? Ichigo defeated you. And I now hold Ichigo's power in the palm of my hand. So, I hold the keys to your fate and his. You and Ichigo will be swallowed up by me, don't you understand?"

_Wait..._

_Ichigo...didn't defeat me using his own power!_

_That hollow._

_Ichigo didn't control that power._

_But it is dangerous to make the assumption that the hollow would help me. He could just as easily decide to kill me, along with Ginjou. The hollow is unpredictable. But, considering Ginjou's plans, I don't have any other options. But, how to call upon the hollow..._

_It only appeared when Ichigo's life was threatened directly._

_What do I do with that?_

"Kuchiki Byakuya, you have gotten quiet. Have you given up hope? Do you see that there is no way out for you?"

"I was wondering."

"Yes?"

"Why haven't you killed me yet?"

Ginjou laughed in Ichigo's voice again.

"Are you in a hurry to die?"

"No, but I am curious how you think I will be useful."

"I am using you to manipulate Ichigo."

"No."

"What?" Ginjou queried, frowning.

"You claimed that you already control Ichigo. If that is true, then you don't need me, as you already have control. There is something else...some other reason that you trapped me here, but did not kill me."

Byakuya was chilled inside by the wicked laugh he got in return.

"You will find out," Ginjou said darkly, "Soon, you will see."

XXXXXXXXXX

"How is Ichigo-san doing, Urahara-san?" Tessai asked, entering the room where the shopkeeper had bound Ichigo in kido ropes and sealed his powers away.

"He's quiet. Too quiet," Kisuke observed, nervously, "I don't like what I'm seeing here."

He sighed softly.

"Did you run the tests I asked for on Byakuya-san?"

"Yeah, and his levels came back normal. His body is in perfect order, except for him not being there. But...there was something of note."

"Oh? What was that?"

"Ichigo-san said that he and Byakuya-san had been intimate."

"Yeah?"

"And he said that they wore pendants to prevent them from getting pregnant, ne?"

"Also correct."

"Well, someone removed Byakuya-san's before it could stop it from happening."

"Eh? Come again?"

"Byakuya-san is pregnant."

"Huh..." Kisuke mused, "Now, why does that scare the hell out of me?"

He looked down at Ichigo's restrained body.

"What are you up to...Kugo Ginjou?"


	14. Revenge Served Cold

**Chapter 14: Revenge Served Cold**

Byakuya woke to flashes of intense pain all over his beaten body, but was relieved to find that Ginjou had left him alone, for the time being. He squinted in the darkness around him, feeling light touches of raindrops as they fell and struck his body. Intermittent flickers of lightning showed him that he laid along the side of a tall building in Ichigo's inner world. He extended his senses and found that Ichigo's reiatsu, as well as Ginjou's registered as being relatively close, but inside the building. He turned over and sat up, wincing as pain lanced through his fractured ribs and throbbed in his head, obscuring his vision.

"Oh...!" he moaned, forcing himself onto his hands and knees and beginning to crawl towards the open window, "Ichigo..."

He heard a sound of protest, rendered in a dizzied muddle, as though the one it came from was nearly senseless.

"Stop! Stop it! Stop!" the voice moaned.

"Be quiet," Ginjou's voice panted, "I'm not done with you, just yet. And before I finish you off, I'm going to have some fun, _and_ make you pay for what you did to me."

"Wh-where is Byakuya, you bastard?" Ichigo cried, struggling, "What did you do to him?"

"Byakuya is dead," Ginjou said in a low, malevolent voice, "He got in my way and I destroyed him. But you were with him. You know. And you know that I used you to do it!"

"You liar! Byakuya's not dead. You couldn't kill him! I heard him calling to me. Where is he? What did you do with him?"

"What do you think I did?" the fullbringer said wickedly, "I used you to rip him out of his body, then I beat him to death, using you to do it. Byakuya is dead, Ichigo, and it's because of you that he died."

"No, you're lying! I would know. I would know if Byakuya died. I would feel it! And I still feel his life force. He's somewhere near here. I know he is! Now, let me go!"

"You don't understand anything at all, do you?" Ginjou asked mockingly, "I am not going to let you go. I am going to have you, one last time, and then, after I am the last one to be with you, I am going to kill you, Ichigo."

"What?"

"You killed me. Or, at least, you tried to kill me. You cut me free of my body, and I started to die. If not for Tsukishima's power, I would have died then. But, instead, my soul invaded your inner world as I died. I was weak, at first. I couldn't affect you in any meaningful way. But, because I had used Tsukishima's power, I knew that you and Byakuya were fated to fall in love. I waited for that to happen, Ichigo. I waited and waited, sucking power from you to sustain myself, until I was strong again, and until you and Byakuya bonded. Once that fool used the love kido to enter your inner world, I knew it was time. I waited until you and Byakuya were vulnerable, then I ripped him out of his body and brought him here, so that I could make him see you killing him."

"But, why?" Ichigo panted, groaning at the waves of pain that passed through him as he struggled against his bonds, "What did Byakuya do to you? Why would you hurt him like that?"

Ginjou's eyes darkened.

"He killed Tsukishima."

"Look, I get that the guy was your friend," Ichigo argued, "But you were trying to steal my power. My friends and I were only fighting to protect my power!"

"No!" Ginjou hissed, bringing his face close to Ichigo's, "That is _not_ why the taichous helped you, Ichigo. They used you to get to me. Don't you understand that? Had you not decided to kill me, yourself, they would have killed both of us!"

"No way!" Ichigo snapped, struggling harder, "The taichous were there to watch over me. You know that!"

"Oh, and you believed them when they told you that? Even after they lied to you about the shinigami badge? You _are_ a complete fool, aren't you, Ichigo!"

"I'm a fool because I know a friend from an enemy?" Ichigo cried, "Because I trust the ones who came to..."

"Stop SAYING that! They didn't come to 'watch over you,' Ichigo. They came to make sure you killed me, and they tried to assassinate the rest of Xcution!" Ginjou exclaimed.

"Oh, and I'm supposed to believe you? The guy who helped me get my powers back, just so he could steal them?"

"As I recall, Kuchiki Byakuya tried to kill you and struck you with an attack that drained your powers," Ginjou reminded him, "And yet, you don't just trust him, you're in love with him. You could forgive him, but you tried to _kill_ me, who had been your lover!"

"You were never in love with me," Ichigo said bitterly, "It was just another part of the game, wasn't it? So fine, you have it in for me. I get that. But, I want you to let Byakuya go."

"Let him go?" Ginjou repeated, glaring, "I told you. I killed him."

"I don't believe you."

"It's true," Ginjou said coldly, "He owed me. He killed my lover. I killed him."

Ichigo's eyes widened for a moment, then softened in realization.

"I should have known," he said in a low, angry voice, "Tsukishima was your real lover."

"Yes," Ginjou admitted, "Not that I remembered that while I was with you, but that is the truth of it."

"So, you didn't just play with my heart, you played with his too," Ichigo said, lowering his eyes, "And when you attacked Byakuya, using my image, you were trying to crush his heart too. I wonder if you even have the ability to really love someone."

Ginjou started to give an angry retort, but paused at the sad look in Ichigo's eyes.

"What is this?" he asked, frowning, "Are you feeling sorry for me?"

"Kinda...yeah," Ichigo said in a softer voice, "I get that it was hard for you, when you found out that the shinigamis were watching you and controlling your reiatsu. It must have come as a shock, because there must have been a time when you really wanted to be one of them. You had the same kind of powers, and the ability to protect souls from becoming hollows. But somehow you discovered that they were watching you closely, and that they didn't trust you. That had to hurt."

"Don't try to sympathize with me, Ichigo," Ginjou said, glaring down into the younger man's eyes, "You can't begin to imagine how I felt. Because they didn't reject you the way they did me! They accepted you and made you one of them."

"It wasn't so easy," Ichigo reminded him, "They watched me too. They sometimes controlled my reiatsu. And if I had turned out to be like you, they _should have_ killed me."

"What?"

"A shinigami is a soul whose job it is to protect human lives and make sure that they pass over safely into Soul Society, Ginjou. When a living human is taken by a shinigami's blade, it's purified and sent to Soul Society, where it can grow into being a shinigami. So, if you think about it, when the shinigamis watched you, and even when they thought they might have to kill you, it was so that when you died, you could go to Soul Society and really become one of them. And when I took your life, I truly hoped that when you got to Soul Society, you would do exactly that. You see, we weren't trying to make an end of you, Ginjou, we were trying to give you a new beginning."

"Oh, that sounds so kind," Ginjou said mockingly, "so very sweet! If it weren't for your sword slashing my body apart and killing me, I would think you'd been doing me a favor by killing me! Is that what you think, then? You were helping me? Well then, let me _help_ you, Ichigo!"

Ichigo's eyes rounded as Ginjou reached into his clothes and removed a wicked looking dagger. He raised it over the bound shinigami substitute, his eyes gleaming as they contemplated Ichigo's for a moment.

"Ginjou, don't!" Ichigo cried, as the weapon began to fall.

Ichigo closed his eyes, waiting for the blow that would end his life. Strangely, nothing touched him. He heard Ginjou make a sound of surprise, then snarl in fury. He opened his eyes to find Byakuya, his clothes in tatters, his body beaten and bloodied, but braced, with his hands gripping the hand that held the dagger over Ichigo.

"What are you doing here?" Ginjou roared, kicking the noble in the chest.

Byakuya reeled from the blow, but managed to steal the knife from the other man's hand as he tumbled to the floor. He turned and slashed at Ichigo's bonds, as Ginjou summoned his zanpakutou.

"You fool! Get out of the way!" he roared.

"No!" Byakuya said firmly, placing himself protectively between Ichigo and his aggressor, "If you want me to move, then you had better be prepared to follow through with killing me!"

"You think I won't?" hissed the fullbringer, "you came to the living world with a plan to kill all of us! And worse than that, you personally killed my lover."

"I went to the living world to watch over Ichigo," Byakuya said, warming inside as he felt Ichigo's warmth against his back, and the shinigami substitute squeezed his free hand.

"But you would have killed him if he had not chosen to kill me!" Ginjou objected.

"Ichigo didn't want to kill you," Byakuya said, more softly, "All of us who came to him, knew that. It is not in his nature to blindly kill, because a man is his enemy. I was his enemy, and Ichigo could have killed me. Instead, he tried to understand me. And when I was beaten, he forgave me. Even more, he reached out to me and helped me to improve myself. I am a better man for knowing Ichigo, and for having been defeated by him. The same is true of each of us who came to his aid that day. We were once his enemies. But he proved with his deeds that he is a man of character and strength...a man who cares deeply for the fate of all souls...even seemingly lost ones, Ginjou."

Shut up!" Ginjou cried, slashing at the noble.

He made a sound of rage as Byakuya and Ichigo dove out of the path of his weapon and threw themselves out the open window, emerging onto the side of the sideways building and backing away from him.

"You all right?" Ichigo asked in a whisper, as they moved.

"Of course I am," Byakuya said, looking offended, "Did you think I was weak?"

"I thought you were _dead_!" Ichigo exclaimed, "Ginjou said he killed you."

"He was mistaken."

Byakuya frowned and thought for a moment as he and Ichigo continued to place distance between the fullbringer and themselves.

"Or maybe...he never intended to kill me...at least, not yet. But, I do not know, then, why he would have spared me, only that he must have some plan that involves me."

"Well, then we'll have to overpower him and find out what that plan is!" Ichigo said in a determined voice.

"I agree," said the noble, "but accomplishing that will be difficult with both of us being without our powers. We need to find a way to conjure some kind of power...and I think I know how."

Ichigo gazed at Byakuya questioningly, then gasped softly.

"Y-you mean..._him_?" he whispered.

"Can you call him to you?"

"Erm," Ichigo said, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck nervously, while Ginjou continued to stalk them, "He's not exactly there for the asking. He usually only appears when I'm about to die."

"Can you escape your inner world, then?"

"What? And leave you here and defenseless? With Ginjou? And what if the hollow comes out too? Byakuya..."

"Listen to me. It is fairly obvious that Ginjou has some kind of plan. But, we will not be able to stop him without power we can control. Ichigo, you have to leave me here and go back."

"No way!"

"You must," Byakuya insisted, "If we try to brace him without more knowledge of what he intends, or what he is capable of doing, then we risk everything on that hollow's actions when Ginjou attacks you."

"I'm not gonna leave you, and that's final," Ichigo insisted.

"You must get Urahara Kisuke to help you."

"Byakuya, I'm not going!" Ichigo shouted, drawing Ginjou's attention and making him gaze at them darkly.

"What makes you think that either one of you can leave?" he growled, "Byakuya has no way to return to his body, and if you go, I promise you, I will kill him!"

He started to say more, but the ground began to rumble all around them, and a bright light cracked across the stormy sky.

_Lightning? _Ichigo mused, _But, something felt...familiar about it. What was that?_

Byakuya noted that Ginjou had looked away to study the sky, and he lunged at the fullbringer, evading the man's late, defensive slash and grabbing the blade with his bare hands.

"Byakuya!" Ichigo screamed, running forward and diving at Ginjou, as the fullbringer yanked on the weapon, making Byakuya hold on harder and grunt with pain.

Light flared around the blade and struck Byakuya and Ichigo, sending them tumbling away, along the side of the building. They landed a short distance apart, and scrambled towards each other, only to be stopped as Ginjou stepped between them and calmly held his weapon ready. He was careful not to be distracted as the buildings and sky rumbled again, and several drops of rain fell onto the side of the building.

_What's going on? _Ichigo wondered, as another bright flash of light crossed the sky above them.

He felt an odd tugging inside, and heard an echoing voice calling his name. A moment later, he recognized the voice, and felt himself yanked free of his inner world. He came awake, screaming Byakuya's name and clenching at the blankets he had been covered with. Kisuke's arm wrapped around him as he reeled with intense dizziness and nausea.

"K-kisuke!" he managed, after a few gasping breaths, "He's got Byakuya! I have to go back! He's going to kill him. I know he will! Kisuke!"

"It's okay," Kisuke said bracingly, "I think he won't kill him right away."

"What? How do you know?" Ichigo asked, looking confused, "Byakuya said the same thing, but he didn't know why. He said that I had to come back to find some way to get back in there, with my powers unsealed. I didn't want to leave him, Kisuke! Ginjou beat him up really bad! I don't know what he'll do to him if I don't go back right away!"

"Okay," Kisuke said supportively, "I know that him having Byakuya-san right now is pretty much your worst nightmare, but hear me out for a second, all right? I'll talk fast, and we will have you back in your inner world as soon as possible. But you need to know what we found."

"Okay," Ichigo said, gulping in a breath of air and panting harshly.

Kisuke at down next to the bed and looked into Ichigo's widened eyes.

"Byakuya-san's body is pregnant," he said quietly.

"Wh-what?" the ginger-haired young man said, blinking in surprise, "Byakuya is...?"

"Pregnant," Kisuke confirmed, "But, Ichigo, it's like no pregnancy that I've ever seen. Usually, with noble male pregnancy, a reiatsu chamber forms, which collects reiatsu and genetic traces from both persons, then a cluster forms, and it slowly matures. When it's fully matured, the area over the chamber loses cohesion, allowing the spirit cluster to pass through the abdomen. Then, the cluster forms into a shinigami body."

"But, that's not what's happening inside Byakuya?" Ichigo asked, looking worriedly at his lover's unconscious body.

"No. Not even close," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "Byakuya-san's soul has been torn free, and there is dead space inside him. The spirit chamber has expanded abnormally and taken up the space inside him, but it doesn't seem to be changing...not at all, right now. Something really wierd is happening, and I don't like the way it looks."

"B-but, how did Byakuya get pregnant in the first place? We were careful. We used protection charms!"

"Think about it, Ichigo," Kisuke said in a low voice, "Ginjou gained control over your body. He made your body attack Byakuya-san's, and then, he took off the protection charm and tore Byakuya-san's soul out, apparently trapping him in your inner world. And you say that he's been attacking him and threatening to kill him, but he hasn't carried out that threat, ne?"

"Yeah. When I got there, he said that he had already killed Byakuya. But, it turned out to be a lie. He just beat him up and left him unconscious. But Byakuya woke up and found us. We were fighting with Ginjou, but we didn't have any powers."

"Most likely because Ginjou's gotten so powerful that he's in control of your inner world. But we're in control out here, so we've got a foothold."

"But Byakuya's in there!" Ichigo said urgently, "And whatever plan Ginjou's got, he is going to kill Byakuya, sooner or later! He said that he wanted to because Byakuya killed Tsukishima, Ginjou's lover."

"Okay," said Kisuke, thinking carefully, "So, whatever he's planning to do will kill Byakuya. And it has something to do with what's going on in Byakuya's body right now. Damn, I need some time to think."

"But while you're thinking, we don't know what that bastard is doing to Byakuya!" Ichigo said in a spooked voice, "Kisuke..."

He paused for a moment, gathering his nerve. Kisuke waited patiently as the younger man gathered himself, then took a steadying breath and said the words he hadn't been able to before.

"Kisuke, when I joined Xcution, Ginjou tried to seduce me."

"What?" Kisuke asked, frowning.

"And when...when he couldn't convince me to have sex with him, he...he..." Ichigo panted, losing his breath for a moment.

"He forced you?" Kisuke asked, closing his eyes against the answer.

"More like...manipulated," Ichigo admitted softly, "He, ah...wouldn't stop, even though I kept telling him to. I didn't think it was...I didn't know exactly. I was a virgin, you know? And he didn't force me physically, so I didn't think it was."

"He raped you."

Ichigo's face paled and he placed a hand on his abdomen, then closed his eyes.

"Yeah," he whispered, "And it wasn't just once. He did it a lot of times. I don't...I didn't want to, but he just kept touching me, talking and holding me down. He said that he was in love with me. And he'd been cut by Tsukishima's blade, so he wasn't purposely lying, but..."

"But the guy was a snake," Kisuke said, his eyes darkening with anger, "Did you tell Byakuya-san this?"

"Yeah," Ichigo whispered, nodding, "He was the first person that I could admit it to. He'd had something like that happen to him. Don't repeat that to anyone, okay? I'm only telling you because I think you should know everything."

"I won't repeat it to anyone," Kisuke promised.

"Especially not Yoruichi," Ichigo said worriedly, "I know she doesn't mean to, but telling her that...if she..."

"I understand. I won't tell her."

"Thanks, Kisuke. But, what are we going to do?"

"I'm still working on that. Tell me, when you and Byakuya-san were there with him, what did Ginjou say and do exactly?"

"He, ah, said that he was going to kill me. He pulled out a knife and tried to stab me. But Byakuya got in the way, and we started to fight. Then, you pulled me back here. Byakuya's in real trouble. We can't just leave him with Ginjou. Ginjou knows everything in both our pasts. He was able to use Tsukishima's shared power to find out. And he's already used images of the guy who...who raped Byakuya when he was younger, to hurt him."

"That's what was happening when he was trapped in his own inner world, ne?"

"Yeah."

"All right. Look, I promise you, I will work as fast as I can. But you have to keep yourself under control, okay? Byakuya-san's a Gotei 13 captain, and he has training to help him, whatever Ginjou tries to do to him. Also, Ginjou needs you there to succeed. You go running off, half-cocked and Byakuya-san's going to die, and you will too, understand?"

"All right, yeah, I get it," Ichigo answered, his eyes still troubled, "But Kisuke, please hurry. I am really worried about Byakuya."

"I'm on it. You stay here and Tessai's going to monitor you closely. I gave you a compound that will hold you out of your inner world for a while, while we figure things out. Just, stay put."

"I will," Ichigo promised.

He laid down on the bed, trying to remain calm as Tessai appeared and began to examine him. His heart and breathing slowed, and he tried to imagine what he would do when finally back in his inner world.

_Byakuya, don't worry. I won't let you die._


End file.
